


Chrysalism

by moonflowers



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Domestic Avengers, Friends to Lovers, Humor, M/M, Natasha Romanov Knows Everything, Newspapers, Steve does not like his picture in gossip mags, Virgin Steve, a lot of furniture/household items are damaged, bathroom blowjobs, hopefully, snogging like randy teens, though the friends part is pretty brief, what can I say that's how I like him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-11-05
Packaged: 2018-04-06 14:58:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 29,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4226223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonflowers/pseuds/moonflowers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the aftermath of the attack on New York, the tabloids can't get enough of the mysterious team assembled to save them. Though the speculations are largely harmless, the constant invasion of their personal lives is something of a bother to Steve, especially when something happens between he and Thor that he'd really rather not see plastered all over the newspapers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alright so 'Chrysalism' isn't actually a word. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows defines it as "the amniotic tranquillity of being indoors during a thunderstorm..." It just seemed kind of perfect, real word or not.  
> Anything separated out in italics is a newspaper or magazine article.  
> I'll try and update this once a week. Watch me fail.

Ever since the Avengers had somehow managed to unite to stop the attack on New York some months back, the news tabloids and gossip magazines alike had been rife with articles speculating about them. Though SHIELD were able to prevent anything of importance or potential danger making it into print, they were powerless to stop the rumours and intrigue that inevitably spewed forth in the aftermath. Despite their heroic actions and unusual abilities, it seemed to be their personal lives that interested journalists the most; which was deemed ultimately harmless, if a little irritating. They were now all public figures, whether they liked it or not. Tony of course took it all in his stride – having made a name for himself beforehand had made him intimately familiar with the ways of the press. While Thor was no stranger to praise for his victories from his people, he remained completely baffled by the fact that the public wished to know every detail of their personal lives. The others were middling, mainly unimpressed but resigned to their fate in the spotlight, at least for now. 

The gossip magazines were the worst. Every week there would be at least one trashy title packed with images of one team member or another doing something seemingly innocuous – going for a run or buying a coffee, for example – when they needed to get out of the tower for a while. There was one particularly memorable image of Clint eating a hotdog that he maintained wasn’t intentionally euphemistic, though Natasha (loudly) suspected otherwise. Most distressing of all (or amusing, if you were Tony) was the appearance of he, Steve, Thor and Clint in some rag’s poll of ‘Top 100 sexiest men.’ Bruce had escaped on the grounds that he kept out of the public eye as much as possible, and most people were either unaware or not at all bothered about what he looked like while he wasn’t green. The photos the magazine had used were inoffensive and almost respectable, all taken from one of Tony’s charity events, black tie of course. Steve hadn’t been so fortunate. The photo they’d picked was one of him caught in the rain going for a run, wet t shirt clinging to his chest and practically indecent. As a result – Steve suspected it was largely because of said photograph – he’d made the number two position behind some actor, leaving Thor at number seven and Tony at number four. Tony found it considerably less funny when it hit him Steve had technically ‘beaten’ him, and cheered himself up by mocking Clint for only placing in the teens. There were very few candid shots of Natasha, and the few that made it through the net looked too perfect, as though she had been aware of the photographer. Which she almost definitely had been. But, as with the others, the photos were always captioned with something about her body or what she was wearing, her hair or make up or guesswork about her diet. She didn’t concern herself with reading them.

Steve was used to the attention, to an extent. During the war, his face had appeared on posters all over the country, and then on the newsreels with the Howling Commandos. But this was different. He didn’t consider having pictures of his behind featured in ‘Top 10 Butts of the Year’ as an achievement. It was too personal, fixated on him and his body (which he still had moments of insecurity about, despite the changes) and while he’d never particularly enjoyed news reports about his work – past or present – it had always been something he could respect. This fixation on their personal lives… he wasn’t so sure. 

\---

_**Mrs United States?** _  
_It’s hard not to fall head over heels in love with Captain America – the wholesome boy-next-door who can bench press and ice cream truck – who wouldn’t want a slice of that apple pie? He can punch out the supervillains on a mission to take the world’s metaphorical purse, and still be the perfect guy to bring home to your parents. (And after the candid shots of him working out in the park last week, it’s a pretty safe bet he’s not lacking in the bedroom department – what we wouldn’t give to be that pair of sweatpants. Swoon.) Long story short, there’s not a girl in the world who wouldn’t take that home, so our question is, who’s the lucky girl who gets the privilege?_

_**Photographs left to right: Captain Rogers on a movie date with fellow Avenger Black Widow, flirting with an attractive colleague at last month’s press conference, and arm in arm with big screen hottie at the Stark Industries fund raising gala.** _

_As with the rest of his team mates, Captain America doesn’t often appear in the public eye in a non-official capacity. Does he have a secret beau hidden away in Stark Tower? Could any of these three be that lucky lady? Only time will tell. In the meantime Cap, there’s one or two gals in this office that wouldn’t mind if you gave them a call!_

\---

The pictures the article, if you could call it that, had dug up were grasping at straws. The one of him and Natasha at the movies was from ages ago – Tony insisted that any film they wanted to see be streamed straight to Jarvis, but Steve still preferred trips to the movie theatre. It was something that hadn’t changed a lot, at least in principle. It had been just after the battle of New York, and while the other’s had been too busy or not in the mood, Natasha had agreed to go with him, claiming she needed a distraction. The picture was grainy and amateur, him offering her his popcorn in the theatre lobby. It wasn’t too surprising; there had been speculations about Natasha dating all of them at some point, much to her irritation.  
The second photo was laughable, a tenuous link if there ever was one. It had been taken at a press conference last week that Steve barely even remembered. A pretty, blonde haired SHIELD employee was handing him a bottle of water. And apparently the fact that he’d smiled in thanks was enough to qualify as flirting.  
The final picture they’d dredged up was from that same Stark Industries charity event that Tony had goaded them all into attending – not that Steve had needed much persuasion, it was for charity after all. It was a photograph of him on the red carpet with a beautiful woman that the others had later assured him was a very successful actress – he wouldn’t have known, still being somewhat behind on his movie viewing. (She was well worth a go, according to Tony. Very bendy. Natasha had thrown a shoe at him, and Pepper informed him of an impromptu meeting he’d have to attend early in the morning with vicious glee.) She’d delicately linked her arm through Steve’s just as a photographer approached, leaning close enough into his side that he could feel her lack of undergarments.  
To make matters worse, the page opposite consisted almost exclusively of a blown-up copy of that damned picture of him running in the rain. It was disconcerting to see your own nipples in the unforgiving, glossy print of a magazine, even if it was through a shirt.

“Steven?”

“Oh!” Steve jumped like he’d been caught out doing something he shouldn’t be, nearly tearing the magazine in half in the process. “Thor. Hey.” 

“What’s that you’re reading?” he handed Steve one of the two beers he was holding and sat on the couch. Though it did little in terms of getting them drunk, they both still enjoyed the taste, along with the social aspect of sharing a drink. 

“This?” he hastily tried to hide the article, “it’s nothing, I – “ 

“That’s you,” Thor cut smoothly through his babbling and took the magazine, amused. 

“Yeah,” said Steve sheepishly, feeling caught out. 

“I enjoyed that evening,” he gestured to the picture of Steve and the apparently famous actress, “it reminded me of home.” 

“Yeah?” Steve raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“Not in the detail,” Thor said, “but in the spirit. Dancing, drinking, guests in their finery sharing tales of success,” he shrugged, his expression darkening briefly. “There have been few occasions when celebration was called for during my time on Midgard.” 

“Huh.” The capture of Thor’s brother after he’d destroyed half the city hadn’t felt like much of a victory even at the time, and nobody had really been in a party mood in the aftermath. “I guess you’re right.”

“I still do not think these Midgardian suits as splendid as our Asgardian finery,” Thor tapped his finger on photo-Steve’s bowtie, “but I must say that you wear it well, Steven.” He smiled earnestly and Steve felt his face heat up in response. Damn why was he always so quick to blush? 

“Thanks,” he swallowed and tried not to break the beer bottle in his grip. “Maybe next time we should all go in Asgardian armour instead. The papers would get a kick out of it at least.” 

It was weak as far as jokes went, but Thor gave a happy rumble and patted Steve’s knee. If Steve hadn’t already been a little red in the face, that might have done it. He still wasn’t used to how tactile people were these days, and none more so than Thor. It wasn’t unpleasant, or even unwelcome, just another thing to get used to.

“Come now, Steven,” said Thor in challenge, tipping back the last of his beer and standing to get another, “keep up.” Steve raised his own bottle to the air in salute before chugging it down, wishing very much that alcohol still affected him, even a little.

~

The movie they’d chosen turned out to be pretty good. And though Steve still preferred going to the theatre, there was something to be said for being able to enjoy movies from the comfort of your own couch – or Tony's couch, whatever – with a friend. Thor was the best company for this; the others had the habit of reciting the most well-known quotes before they happened on screen. And though the two of them would chat and comment on what was going on, it never felt forced or uncomfortable, or a disruption of the action. It was easy. Today’s point of conversation – the realistic merit of the battle scenes. Thor had a great deal more to say on the matter than Steve, as swords and axes seemed to be the weapons of choice in this particular movie, and Steve had no real experience using either.

“Ridiculous,” Thor muttered into his coke.

“What is?”

“Both hands would be needed to wield a sword of that heft,” he frowned as though it were obvious, and shook his head in disbelief.

Steve bit his lip to keep in his laughter and reached for the bowl of chips on the table. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“Weaklings,” Thor scoffed as the hero took out another swathe of enemy soldiers. “A blow that unbalanced would not fell anything.”

“Mm, perhaps. But you’re forgetting that they’re not Asgardians. Most of us poor mortals can’t take so many hits.”

Thor grinned and took another handful of Doritos from the bowl. “True.”

“Hey, I got a question for you,” Steve twisted a little in his seat so he was facing Thor. “If you could pick one weapon to use in battle other than Mjolnir, what would you pick?”

“You ask a most difficult question,” Thor frowned, “as I’ve not had the need to wield anything else for a long while… she could never be replaced. What would you choose, if not your shield?”

“A sword,” said Steve immediately.

“Oh? Why is that?”

“I uh, couldn’t always play much with the other kids when I was growing up, so I read a lot to pass the time. And my mom would tell me stories if I was too tired, you know, old fairy stories and the like.” He shrugged, “I wanted to be a hero. And the hero always had a sword.” 

“I see,” Thor smiled softly, a contrast to his usual boisterous grins and good natured laughter. It was an expression Steve had noticed him make more often of late, as they’d started to know each other better. He paused, considering his answer. “Perhaps I would master the bow.”

“Really?” The answer surprised him.

“Yes. My method of attack has always been straightforward – “

Steve snorted. “What, hit the enemy as hard as you can while making as much noise as possible?”

“Hush,” Thor grinned and shoved him gently. Well, gently for Thor. “As you say, my means of attack are far from subtle. And I have witnessed the deadly precision of masters of the bow on Asgard, and by friend Clint. It is admirable how they can take down an enemy before they even know they’re there.”

Hmm. It was a good answer, but… “Nah you wouldn’t.”

“Excuse me?”

“Come on Thor, we both know if you couldn’t have Mjolnir you’d pick something else big and shiny that you could hit stuff with.”

Thor looked for a moment as though he was going to argue back, before his face split into a wide grin. “You are right, Steven,” he shook his head ruefully. “You know me well.”

Steve smiled in return, and they fell back into silence as the movie progressed.

“I do admire their leader though,” said Thor sometime later, as the action neared its climax.

“Yeah?”

“Of course,” said Thor with vigour, accidentally crunching most of the Doritos he held for his efforts. “It takes a wise man to know when he should lead and when he should follow. It… it can be a hard lesson to learn.” 

“I guess.”

They lapsed into silence again for a little while after that, each caught up in his past mistakes and victories and changes forced upon them. The credits were soon rolling, though Steve hadn’t been paying as much attention to the ending as he’d have liked. 

“You want to watch another?” He didn’t feel he’d be able to sleep for some time yet. It happened sometimes.

Thor nodded. “The night is young.”

Steve wiped his hands on the thighs of his jeans – Tony had given them all stern lectures on handling technology with crumby fingers, though to be honest it was just good sense.

“Steven?”

“Mm?”

“You have…” Thor gestured loosely to his own face, “on your chin.” 

“Oh,” he hurriedly raised a hand to wipe the salsa from his chin, “right. Thanks.” He smiled, and stilled when he noticed how close they’d shifted to each other as they’d watched the movie. He could feel the heat from Thor’s thigh against his own, heavy, familiar yet not. Blinking, he looked to Thor, whose face was unfocused and mouth slack, attention fixed on Steve’s lips. They were close enough that he could feel Thor’s breath on his cheek.

“You know what I’m actually kind of tired,” he stood up hastily, avoiding his friend’s eye. “Sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologise,” Thor smiled, though it was tight and didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I will see you tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Steve threw a smile vaguely in his direction, “goodnight.” 

Bizarrely, as he marched back to his room cursing his social ineptitude, he thought of Peggy. She’d laugh, had she been there. She’d once told him that he didn’t know how to talk to girls, more than once actually, and she was right. Turned out he wasn’t that great at talking to guys either.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To clarify, this takes place some time after the first Avengers movie, but the specifics really don't matter.   
> And they all live together in the tower because I said so.

“Good morning, Steven.”

Steve looked up from where he was sitting at the kitchen counter, filling out the crossword in the paper. Or rather trying to – most of the clues concerned things he’d never even heard of, so he’d started doodling in the margins and between the other puzzles instead. “Hey buddy,” he put down the pencil, having just drawn a dog sitting patiently on top of a Sudoku grid, “any plans this morning?”

“Actually,” said Thor as he crossed the kitchen to pull open the fridge, looking over the array of smoothies nestled in the shelf door, his already loud voice echoing from its depths, “it was you I was seeking.”

“Yeah?” He watched as Thor pulled a violently purple smoothie from the shelf and looked intently over the ingredients, frowning in concentration. It had taken a while to get used to seeing him do such… normal things. Their first meeting had been tumultuous, a clash of power and personalities, all of them in uniform and a job to get done. His first impressions of Thor differed wildly to the man standing before him now, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt and studying the banana to blueberry ratio in one of Tony’s smoothies. 

“Yes,” he took a deep swig from the bottle before putting it back and closing the fridge. Steve made a mental note to at some point gently suggest he use a glass. “I wondered if you wished to run the streets with me. It’s been a while since we last did so.” Though initially it had taken some explaining for Thor to grasp the concept of jogging (“But why would I wish to run if the objective is nothing more than to get back to where I started? Honestly Steven, the whole thing is absurd”) he seemed to quite enjoy it now, especially if Steve indulged his competitive streak and allowed him to race him when the park was quiet. “But I fear the weather may not be suitable.”

Steve looked to the window, which was currently being lashed with thick sheets of rain. “Uh, yeah. Maybe not.” As if on cue, a rumble of thunder tore across the sky, already ominous and dark with heavy cloud. “That wasn’t you, was it?” Steve still wasn’t quite sure of the extent of Thor’s effect on the weather.

“No,” Thor shook his head. “Ordinarily I would relish the chance to be outdoors in such conditions,” probably for some bizarre, thunder god related reasons – and damn, it was easy to forget that this guy who Steve had seen cry over kids movies and gleefully accept his turn to do the washing up had been worshipped as a god. It was a disorientating thought, but Steve was pulled out of it pretty sharpish when a sly smile crept across Thor’s face. “Also, I felt you may be reluctant to run in wet weather, after the displeasure you expressed when those pictures of you taking your exercise in the rain were exposed to the public.”

“Oh gee, thanks for the reminder,” Steve internally cringed at the memory and wished Thor hadn’t gone for the word ‘exposed,’ but smiled back all the same.

Thor let out a great shout of laughter that shook the windows almost as much as the thunder had. “Fear not Steven, you looked very handsome in them.”

“Yeah well, let’s see if you feel differently about it when it’s your nipples splashed all across the _Torso of the Week_ feature.” Tony had cut out the offending article and stuck it up on the fridge for over a month, much to his embarrassment. It baffled him completely that such a thing even existed.

“They have been,” said Thor with perhaps a touch more pride than Steve thought appropriate, “last February, I believe.”

“Huh. I’d forgotten about that.” Thor and Tony had had too much to drink at one of the swanky parties they’d all been invited to and decided that swimming in the fountain was a good idea. Unfortunately, security had not agreed and they’d elected to make a swift exit, but not before a few enterprising people had whipped out their phones. 

“Come, then,” said Thor decisively, “if we cannot run, then we must do something else instead.” Thor reached out a hand to grab Steve’s, lacing their fingers together. The gesture made Steve hesitate and blink down at their joined hands in surprise, but he didn’t have long to fret over the intentions behind it as Thor began dragging him down the corridor at a jog.

“Wait, where are we going?” he managed to sputter out as they passed a bemused looking Bruce on the way to the elevator. Not that he wasn’t grateful for a much needed break from the confines of the tower whatever form it came in, but he’d like to have a vague idea beforehand. He liked plans, alright? 

“That,” Thor said over his shoulder, “we will decide on the way.”

Twenty minutes later and soaked to the bone, the pair of them stood in front of the door to a small coffee shop a few blocks from the tower. Alright, so maybe it wasn’t the most adventurous or productive option, but it still felt somehow spontaneous, a break from routine. Daring almost, like when Bucky used to convince him to skip out on school to go and sit up on the bridge and watch the city buzz underneath them. It felt _fun._ A sign in the window of the shop announced it had been newly refurbished after the destruction of the city. The stark, black print felt somehow accusing; it made his back straighten and his jaw tense. Many people, and perhaps rightly so to an extent, blamed them for the damage. Thor must have sensed his discomfort – he was better at reading people than they gave him credit for – and gave Steve’s shoulder a brief pat before pushing open the door. Inside, the air was heavy with the smell of chocolate and coffee, instantly warming after the cold and wet of the streets. There were a few booths along the side wall for seating, but most of the little shop was taken up by the counter. 

“Good morning,” a girl standing behind it shot them a friendly smile, despite how much rain water they were dripping onto the floor, and he felt himself relax a little.

“Morning m’am,” said Steve, and Thor nodded in greeting.

“What can I get you?” the girl asked.

“Uh…” he faltered. Despite having been awake in the ‘future’ for a considerable amount of time now, Steve was still occasionally bewildered by the sheer amount of choice. He’d grown up barely scraping by and making do with whatever he could get, and old habits die hard. “Whatever you recommend.”

“Lattes it is then,” she smiled and took out two large mugs, “can’t go wrong with lattes. Anything to eat?” 

“That would be great, thanks,” he turned to Thor. “What should we get?”

“Hmm,” Thor stooped to look over the array of cakes and pastries neatly packed in behind the clear counter, nose almost pressed to the glass in his enthusiasm. “These look most excellent,” he said, pointing to a tray of maple danishes.

“Right you are. We’ll take two – actually better make it four – of the danishes, please.” They could put away a lot of food between the two of them, but he felt it would be rude to ask for too many at once. 

The girl finished off making their coffees and set them on a tray. “Coming right up.”

After paying and thanking the girl, the two of them headed to an empty booth right at the back of the shop. Thor insisted on carrying the tray, balancing it carefully as they wove between the tables – no easy task when you were as large as either of them were. They slid onto the squashy, cracked leather seat, and stayed there for over an hour, though at some point Thor strode up to the counter to obtain more danishes from a blushing girl who’d just started her shift. He couldn’t say what they talked about, it all ran together in a comfortable and contented blur; the smell of coffee and pastry and Thor’s shower gel, the hiss of the coffee machine and his deep voice in Steve’s ear. Though he did remember the glares shot at them for being too loud from a pair of older ladies a few tables away. He felt bad for disturbing them, and apologised as best he could through his laughter, not helped by Thor elbowing him in the side. It made him feel like a kid again, or the good parts anyway, carefree and lightheaded, that nothing could bring them down.

~

Some days later, and Steve was getting some time in at the gym after breakfast. Sometimes exercising would agitate him, cause muscle memories of old battles to resurface and make him panic or angry, battering the punch bag in a haze of rage and unchecked strength until the bag crashed to the floor and he’d come back to himself, irritated and ashamed for losing control. But today wasn’t one of those days. Today it was easy, familiar, his body going through motions as it had a thousand times before. It cleared his mind and relaxed his body, leaving him feeling fresh and positive. But all good things came to an end.

“Morning Cap.”

“Tony,” he paused briefly to look over his shoulder before continuing to jab at the punch bag, “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I can be stealthy when I want.”

Steve shook his head fondly and cracked his knuckles. There was still the odd moment when tension could crackle up between them if they’d had a rough day, even after months of living under the same roof, but for the most part they got on alright. “I know. What’s up?”

“I’ve got something for you,” Tony sing-songed like he was talking to a child. It was remarkable how often Tony spoke to him as though he were five, when he also spent a majority of the time he was in Steve’s company making ageist cracks at him. 

“Oh yeah?” said Steve, curiosity piqued, and turned to see Tony holding a newspaper. It was a crummy tabloid, the sort that barely contained any actual news, mostly just gossip or downright fiction. “Tony, that paper’s trash, everybody knows it. What in God’s name could be in there that’s of interest to me? Or you, for that matter?”

“I am so glad you asked,” said Tony with a leer.

“Tony – “ he warned.

“Usually I’d gently encourage you to read the papers online like everybody else, but I thought this was special enough to merit a hard copy. That way you can cut it out and stick it in your diary,” he finished sweetly, before handing Steve the paper, already folded neatly open at the page of interest. “You’ve no idea how much I wish I could hang around to enjoy the look on your face when you read it, but regrettably I’ve got secret genius things to do. Bruce’ll bust my ass if I’m not in the lab on time, and not in the fun way.” With a wave and another sharp grin he was gone, leaving Steve alone and blinking down at the paper.

It was headed with _**Spotted!**_ in bold, black print, and underneath were photographs of half a dozen celebrities Steve had never heard of doing frankly quite ordinary things. One woman, a singer apparently, was lying on the beach in a very revealing swimsuit, a football player was eating lunch with his current girlfriend, and Steve was beginning to wonder why Tony had bothered to show it to him at all when he caught sight of the picture in the bottom right corner. _Oh Lord._   
It took him a moment to make it out, the quality of the picture was so poor. But it was unmistakably Thor and himself, squashed together in the booth of the coffee shop day a few days previously, and… had they really been sitting so close? He was practically in Thor’s lap. His own face was partially in shadow from the peak of his cap, but it was clear he was laughing raucously at some comment Thor had made. Thor’s face was much clearer, and looking thoroughly pleased with himself for evoking such a reaction. Their coffee mugs stood empty on the table, and along with the plate littered with crumbs from the pastries, it was clear the two of them had been there a long while. It was a little embarrassing, but nothing to get upset about; just a candid shot of he and his buddy taking a break, no big deal. Then he noticed the caption.

\---

_Ladies, reach for the wine and ice cream, we’ve got some sad news. Thor and Captain America were spotted together looking ever so cosy at a coffee shop in NYC on Tuesday, having a laugh over lattes. Are they dating? Are they just close friends? What exactly goes on between the Avengers behind the closed doors of Stark Tower? We can’t say for sure. It would be a sad day for us all if these boys are officially off the market, but if Cap and Thor really have hooked up, then here’s hoping their sex tape gets leaked._

\---

He blinked at it in shock, resisting the urge to tear the darn thing to pieces. If Tony dared stick this on the fridge, he was in for an earful. 

~

Steve should have known, when he went up to get lunch sometime later, that he wouldn’t be allowed to deal with his embarrassment over the idiotic article in peace. The entire team was lurking about the kitchen diner, some fixing themselves lunch or pretending to be occupied with some small task or another. Even Pepper was there, tapping away on her tablet from where she sat next to Tony at the table. Wonderful. For all their combined training, they could be awfully transparent when it suited them. 

“Hey Cap,” Clint grinned through a mouthful of leftover pizza as Steve pulled open the fridge. Maybe he could crawl inside and escape what was sure to be an excruciating next few minutes. 

“Hey,” his returned greeting was directed more at a tub of coleslaw than at Clint. It was easier than eye contact. When he turned around, they were all looking at him expectantly; other than Pepper, who was still working, and Thor, who was busy devouring an enormous sandwich. Thank God for small mercies. 

“So,” Tony began, leaning forward on his elbows, and Steve actually had to bite back the stern ‘elbows off the table’ ingrained in him by his mother, “I’ve never been one for navigating my way around any elephants in the room – “ Pepper snorted without pausing in her work, and Tony raised an eyebrow in mock offence. Or maybe he actually was offended, it was hard to tell with Tony. “So… Cap. Point Break. Are you guys actually making the bilgesnipe with two backs or are you just best dudebros forever?”

Steve was thankful he hadn’t actually started eating yet, or he may have choked. He pointedly avoided looking at Thor, feeling like some idiot kid about his embarrassment, and it was all made a hundred times worse because _they hadn’t even done anything for crying out loud._

“Subtle, Tony,” Bruce said from where he sat at the other side of the table reading the paper. A proper one with actual news in it rather than dodgy shots of celebrities, thankfully, though it was still on his tablet. 

“Well, are you?” he insisted. “I’m sure we have a right to know because of team dynamics or whatever.”

“Tony – “ 

“Easy Cap,” said Natasha with a smirk from where she leant against the breakfast bar, where thankfully Thor was still mostly engaged with battling his sandwich. “You know he’ll get bored and drop it sooner or later.”

“Yeah, preferably sooner,” Steve said under his breath.

But, big surprise, Tony couldn’t help himself. “Seriously. Are you boning?”

_“No_ Tony, Jesus…” It was about then that Steve actually managed to look up at Thor, still sitting at the breakfast bar, licking mayonnaise from his thumb and looking surprisingly pleased about the whole thing.

“I care not for the petty accusations within these papers,” he said with his wide and easy smile, “and I do not see why you find it so amusing. I could fare much worse than to have Captain Rogers on my arm.” 

Oh. That was unexpected. Well not really, considering Thor was all big and gallant and loyal and painfully honest and had absolutely no boundaries, but hearing him say it was still a surprise. Steve squirmed under everybody’s scrutiny. “Uh, thanks? I guess.”

The brief silence that followed wasn’t the most awkward Steve had ever endured – his double dates with Bucky had provided him with enough awkward silences to last a lifetime, even his somewhat unconventional one – but that didn’t mean he enjoyed it. It came to an end when Natasha cleared her throat and narrowed her eyes at him. “Steve?”

“Yeah?” he ventured, really not sure which direction she was going to go with this trainwreck of a conversation.

“Promise me you’ll never get caught by the bad guys.”

“I… don’t plan to.” It kind of went without saying. It was more or less their entire job. “But why, specifically?”

“You’d be awful under interrogation. Every thought that goes through your head is just as obvious on your face,” she shrugged, “just thought you’d want to know.” 

~

That evening, fed up with the little smirks and knowing smiles the others kept flashing him, along with the occasional explicit queries about Thor’s anatomy from Tony, Steve had ended up going to bed early. He wasn’t hiding, he just… he was hiding. But with so much on his mind, he was twitchy and couldn’t settle, and was almost considering going back to the others purely for something to occupy his skittish mind. He held his sketchbook hoping to find distraction there, thumbing through the pages and waiting for inspiration to strike. But it turned out the only thing he felt compelled to draw right now was Thor, and that was precisely what he was trying not to fixate on. God, he was a mess. That was the thing though, when he spent so long holding everything together. When something inevitably gave way, it hit him big time. 

He was a little embarrassed, sure, but that would pass. It was the newspaper that bothered him more. He couldn’t say why it bothered him so much; it was only a trashy paper that everyone knew wasn’t worth paying any attention to. They didn’t know anything. All it was a was one crappy shot of he and his friend having a coffee, just like thousands of other people in the city did, what did it matter? But it did matter. It was a gross invasion of privacy, a mockery of real news, and… and he didn’t even think about Thor that way.  
They were friends certainly, very good friends, and spent more time with each other than perhaps any of the rest of the team. (Natasha and Clint were very close, but also steadfastly independent.) Though their lives before the Avengers differed greatly, their experiences since had been somewhat similar. Both had felt like they didn’t belong, an intruder, out of place. Granted, most of their unconventional comrades had felt that way too at some point, but on a metaphorical level, not physically, never as though they inhabited a different world. Each had had to work hard to catch up with the ways of things, and it had been a comfort when the team had come together to discover that there was someone else battling with change alongside him – though Thor somehow seemed to do so more gracefully. In him, Steve had someone who could sort of understand. Thor was a good man. Honourable. Brave. Many of the qualities Steve valued. He could make him laugh, lift the weight off his shoulders for a time. Handsome, yeah, but… Steve didn’t think about Thor like that. Except that maybe he did. Damn. 

There was a knock at his door.

“Come in,” he called on reflex, before remembering he was meant to be hiding.

“Steven?” It was Thor. Of course it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a really lame way to end the chapter, I know. But I wanted to post this vaguely on schedule and the original ending wasn't ready yet, so it got bumped to the next part.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter just about pushes the rating into an M ayyyyy. It's very brief, but there will be more to come, I promise you.

“Steven,” Thor stepped inside, and gently pushed the door closed behind him. He still occasionally broke things by accident, which thankfully Tony perceived as a challenge to make everything Thor-proof, rather than being irritated at the destruction of his property. His voice, the click of the latch, his footfalls on the carpet – all seemed muted and dull, like listening to something with your hands over your ears. “I merely wished to know how you are faring.”

“Yeah, I uh,” Steve cleared his throat and tried to will away the disorientating buzzing in his ears, “never better.”

“I hope that what the others said did not cause you offense,” his brow lifted in concern as he moved towards him. Steve got to his feet so that they were of a more similar height and on equal footing, an old habit from when he’d been smaller, and he’d had to make every inch count.

“I… it’s nothing, really,” he tried to smile, thumbing at the edge of his sketchbook before dropping it down on the bed. “I’m a big boy. It’s just…” he sighed in irritation and let his poor attempt at a smile drop. There was no point in struggling on, half-heartedly concealing his newly realised affection for his team mate, especially since Thor was so open about everything. He deserved more than Steve’s well-meaning deception. “It really didn’t bother you at all?” He had to ask. Thor seemed so unaffected by it, though that shouldn’t really have come as a surprise. “I don’t mean the others, frankly I’d be worried if they weren’t poking fun, but that article in the paper, about us being…?” He trailed off, face hot and unable to finish the sentence, but making himself meet Thor’s eye as he spoke.

“Why would it?” he said with such feeling and loud enough that Steve almost flinched. “I meant what I said Steven.” 

“Yeah?” Thor was standing right in front of him now, face soft and sincere. He was a little taller than Steve, and he’d almost forgotten what it was like, to feel outsized by somebody. Though he felt far from threatened by it now, which was a pleasant change from his past. Steve could have sworn Thor’s eyes were actually _twinkling,_ and there had to be some clever line about stars or space in there somewhere, but he was too far gone for flashy lines. “Remind me which part that was again?”

He was close enough that Steve could smell him for God’s sake, soap and night air and the pizza they’d had for dinner, as he gently curled his fingers around Steve’s wrists and pulled them close to his own chest, his heart beat rough and fast under Steve’s fingertips. “That anyone should be proud to have you on their arm and in their heart. That I would be honoured to be the one courting you.” 

Aw heck, who could turn down a line like that? Steve was a little out of touch admittedly, but he wasn’t dead. Unless he’d somehow misread the situation in a very dire way, Thor had just laid out in no uncertain terms that he’d like them to be together just as much as Steve did, so what was there left to worry about? Probably about seventeen different things at least, but Steve pushed them all aside and strode into the storm so to speak, curling his fingers tight into Thor’s hair and pulling him into a kiss. He’d had enough of not taking a chance when it presented itself – who knew if and when he’d get another.

Steve had never done an awful lot of kissing. One or two of his double dates with Bucky had ended with a peck on the cheek from his girl, but it was more out of politeness than anything. Bucky himself had landed one on Steve on occasion, when he was out of his mind drunk and feeling affectionate. He didn’t let himself think about that. The blonde WAC whose name he never even knew. There’d been that one, wonderful kiss from Peggy. And… well that was it actually. And now Thor. Who was very much not a polite peck on the cheek kind of person.

Before he could panic overmuch at that development, Thor nipped at his lower lip, pushing forcefully back into the kiss, and Steve’s mind went blissfully blank. Thor kissed like the world was ending, and the sentiment being one Steve could relate to, gave back as good as he got. He barely knew what his body was doing, as he grabbed and stroked and pulled at Thor, getting him as close as possible. His hand slipped lower, his palm firmly on the small of Thor’s back. Before he had time to be surprised at his own daring, Thor groaned, low and deep, putting his hands under Steve’s thighs and actually hefting him up against the wall, keeping him up with his own bodyweight. An embarrassing little whine fell from Steve’s lips as Thor began to mouth at his neck, and he rolled his hips up against Thor’s as best he could while being pinned to the wall. His body felt like it did at the height of battle, hot and thrumming and responsive, but with none of the focus or control he usually had. It was beautiful and delirious and alien, and it wasn’t until Thor began to palm at his cock through his clothing that’s Steve’s head caught up with his traitorous body. 

“Thor,” he managed to mumble through their kisses, “Thor.”

“Mm?” Thor relinquished his mouth and moved down to kiss along his jawline.

“Can we just,” the aching in his cock made it hard to form words, “I need to stop.”

The moment he’d said it, Thor backed off, gently lowering him back to the floor and looking at him quizzically. His hair was tousled from where Steve had been running his fingers through it. “Something troubles you?”

“It’s not you,” he said quickly, at the hurt look on Thor’s face. For such a towering giant of a man, Thor did an unnervingly accurate impression of a kicked puppy. “It’s just a little too much too fast, you know?” 

Thor’s face relaxed in understanding, and he laughed softly. “According to past lovers, I can be somewhat overenthusiastic. I apologize.” 

“No it’s not that.” In truth, he’d sort of liked Thor’s vigorous handling of him – there weren’t many who could rough him up, and it made an exhilarating change for it to be in pleasure than at the hands of HYDRA or an alien invasion. “It’s just that I uh, I’ve never actually…” he trailed off, hoping Thor would take his meaning.

“You have never shared your bed with another?” said Thor, brow raised in surprise. “Then the apology I owe you is even greater. It is a personal moment of great importance on Asgard, a rite of passage,” he squeezed Steve’s shoulder lightly. “I should have thought to ask.” 

“It’s no big deal,” Steve flushed under Thor’s sincere scrutiny, “really, please don’t apologize.”

“I did not intend to rush you,” Thor leaned forward to kiss him again, slow and deliberate, gentle, and Steve had one of those rare, insightful moments when he realised that he might just be luckier than he’d thought. “I – “

“Captain Rogers, Mr Odinson,” Jarvis’ voice rang clear into the room, and Steve couldn’t help but jerk away, feeling thoroughly caught out. “You have received new orders from Director Fury. The rest of the team is already gathered in the main room, if you’d be so kind as to join them.”

“Sure,” said Steve, never quite sure where to look while addressing Jarvis, “we’re on our way.”

“Come,” said Thor with one last pat on his shoulder, face already alight with the prospect of battle, “there will be time for talking later, yes?”

“Yeah,” Steve nodded, belatedly removing his hands from where they still rested at Thor’s waist, “later.”

He really wasn’t in the right headspace for a mission, he thought, as he followed Thor back into the corridor and down to the main living area. Though Jarvis’ interruption had gone some way to cooling him off, his chin was still itching from the scrape of Thor’s beard, his skin felt hot and too tight. He took a deep breath as the doors slid open to where the rest of team waited, pushing aside personal worries and stepping up to become the Captain they needed, and not just Steve. He’d done it before and he could do it again.

~

When Steve woke the next morning, he was almost unbearably warm. After a moment of disorientation, he realised it was because Thor was wrapped around him in sleep, his hold loose but firm enough that Steve couldn’t have crawled out of it without waking him. Fortunately, he didn’t want to. Smothering a dopey smile, he blinked at the clock on his nightstand. It was after ten in the morning, uncommonly late for him to wake, but not terribly surprising given that they hadn’t gotten to bed until nearly four. 

The mission they’d been sent on the previous night turned out to be a bust. It was all very low key and under the radar, a thousand times more subtle than a majority of their work proved to be. It was more Clint and Natasha’s area of expertise, which made Steve wonder why the rest of them had even been called up – what were they expecting to find? Only Bruce had remained at the tower, lightly bickering with Tony over the comm and pointing them in the right direction. The base they’d been tasked to infiltrate was suspiciously empty, and though they’d spent hours slipping through its labyrinthine tunnels, they’d found nothing, and returned to the tower hours later feeling ill at ease and anti-climactic. He supposed it was preferable to a bloodbath, but it still didn’t feel right. But there was nothing to be done, and after a quick debrief from Fury ensuring them SHIELD was on the case of finding out where it’d gone wrong, they’d all bid each other a weary goodnight and shuffled off to their beds.

Wordlessly, Thor had followed Steve back up to his rooms. He undressed, Steve shyly following suit, and crawled into his bed. They didn’t do more than kiss in the end, but in the aftermath of their earlier tryst and the unnerving result of their mission, it was perfect. He couldn’t have said how long they’d lain there together stretched out under the sheets, lazily swapping kisses until they eventually settled down against each other and fell asleep.   
It had all felt like some wonderful, hazy dream last night, but to wake up with Thor in his bed the next morning, it all felt disarmingly real. It was a nice feeling, sure – he’d never woken up with anybody in his bed before, unless you counted a severely hungover Bucky, which he didn’t. But this was all unfamiliar territory, leaving him feeling awkward and a little unsure. He’d never gotten the chance to do anything like this the first time around, so he had practically nothing to go on. And even if he had had more partners in the past, social convention would most likely be completely different now anyway. And Thor wasn’t even from this planet for Christ’s sake, so who knew what was the norm for him where partners were concerned.  
Embarrassingly, Steve was still looking at Thor with a rather soppy expression when he woke a while later. 

“Good morning Steven,” his arm tightened around Steve’s middle as he stretched out under the covers.

“Uh, yeah,” he ducked his head. “Morning.”

“You seem ill at ease,” Thor frowned, eyes still narrow with sleep. “Has what happened between us last night upset you?”

“Oh, God no,” said Steve hurriedly. “I’m just sorta new at this. I don’t –“ he’d spent enough time around Thor by now to know that it would be easier just to get to the point instead of dancing around it and hoping he took his meaning. “Are we dating?”

Thor grinned, moving his hand up to lace their fingers together. “I’d like that very much,” he pressed a kiss to Steve’s knuckles, and how was this guy even real?

“Me too,” Steve managed to choke out.

“Good,” Thor’s smile grew wider, “that means I can do this.” He gently took hold of Steve’s chin, drawing him in for a brief sweet kiss. “But we shall have to tell our teammates in due course,” he said softly as he drew away, breath hot on Steve’s cheek, “which I assume is not a task you will relish.” 

“I know,” Steve let his head fall back against the pillow. The very thought of it made him sweat, but they couldn’t all live in such close quarters and hide something like that, it just wasn’t possible. It would all come out sooner or later anyway, most likely via Natasha. She probably already knew. 

“You don’t look very happy at the prospect,” Thor squeezed him closer and kissed the top of his head. “I trust it’s not the fact that it’s me you’ve chosen giving you pause.”

“No, of course not.” Things were still so new and unsteady between them, despite how wonderful it felt, and he didn’t want to jinx a good thing by having to tell everybody so soon. “It’s just that it’s our business, you know? I know we have to tell them, and I want to, but… I don’t know. I guess it just feels like we’re rushing things again.”

“Among my people,” Thor said, “any new union would be greeted with joy and congratulations. For even if the time the two have spent has been brief, or even if it’s not destined to last, that time together has been sweet, and built from happiness. There is no shame in it.” Thor’s voice was deep and soothing, and Steve was uncharacteristically reluctant to get out of bed. Ever. “And perhaps it will not be as bad as you think. We are an unconventional group, are we not?”

“You’ve got that right,” Steve couldn’t help but smile into Thor’s neck. He knew Tony was right in what he’d said yesterday – they were a team, and it was a big deal in terms of how they all functioned. And if nothing else, he was a stickler for doing things properly. It would only be worse if the others discovered it under their own steam, which to be frank probably wouldn’t take very long; as Natasha had told him multiple times, he was a terrible liar, and Thor could be far from discreet. 

“Then we shall tell them later?”

“Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realise there wasn't really much of a lead up to the two of them getting together, but this story was meant to be more about them dealing with the aftermath of them hooking up rather than the thing itself, so that's why I didn't spend a heck of a lot of time on it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is far too jolly. What can I say, I like them all living together in domestic bliss.  
> It's also late and really short. Two reasons - I've got a friend staying with me this week, and I got distracted writing two other fics ~~Steve in lingerie~~

That evening, drowsy and full of Chinese takeout, the occupants of the tower were sprawled in various positions over the furniture of the small room (or small compared to the majority of the other rooms in the tower) that they used for quiet evenings in. It wasn’t actually a very common occurrence considering they all lived there – Clint and Natasha were often away on SHIELD work, Tony and Bruce occasionally got so thoroughly distracted by whatever they were doing in the labs that they didn’t emerge for days, and Thor would disappear off to Asgard from time to time. Though thankfully, not that often. It was nice, Steve thought as he leaned back into the sofa – the fancy leather one that probably cost as much as a year’s worth of the rent on his ratty apartment, back in his day – to have a semblance of a family again. 

Thor was sitting next to him, diligently finishing off every scrap from the takeout container, body relaxed in a sort of dignified sprawl Steve didn’t think he’d ever be able to carry off himself. He wasn’t sure how best to approach telling the others that he and Thor were sort of seeing each other… Though the rational part of him knew they’d all be fine with it, probably more than that, happy for them even, the irrational part of him feared the rejection they most likely would have got back in the 40s. It was all very well being told people were mostly okay with it now, but it was still a sudden change in attitude as far as he was concerned. But it wasn’t even that, not really. It was more that he didn’t want to upset the unexpected but comfortable rhythm they’d all settled in to; where they were all finally at ease enough to occasionally spend time with each other through choice, to share their mealtimes, and to lounge around Tony’s living room like a pack of sleepy lions. On this evening’s agenda, apparently, was arguing over the merits – if there were any – of having board game nights.

“Aww come on, it’s a great idea,” said Tony from where he sat between Bruce and Pepper, the volume low on the TV, where a gameshow flashed purple and gold.

“No way, Stark,” Natasha licked sweet plum sauce off her index finger, “that’s _way_ too happy families.”

“We already have… whatever these are,” Clint gestured to their gathering at large. “And since when are you so big on team bonding?”

“Not to mention you’d get bored after five minutes,” said Pepper, raising an eyebrow at Tony. “I know, I’ve tried. Remember what happened when we tried to play Clue?”

“OK, for that,” said Tony, waving a half-eaten piece of prawn toast at her, “you’re not invited.”

“And we’d have to explain the rules of just about everything to the dynamic duo over there,” Clint jerked his thumb at Steve and Thor. 

Steve was about to retort, but Thor beat him to it. “We are no fools Barton, I am confident we could master any of these games you choose,” he grinned sharply, “and we would win.”

“Oh yeah?” Tony matched his smile. “That sounds like a challenge, Norse Barbie.”

“There’s no point,” Clint said, “we all know Nat would just lie and cheat her way to the top.” He yelped and dropped his chopsticks as her elbow dug into his ribcage. “What? You would.”

“I would,” she smirked. “Though I suppose, on a good day, you might just be able to give me a run for my money, Barton.”

“I’ve got it,” said Tony, sitting up so quick he nearly hit Bruce in the face, “strip poker.”

“So unoriginal,” Natasha sighed.

“Oh come on, you can’t go wrong with strip poker. There’s something there for everybody,” he glanced around the room with a frown. “Although there’s maybe a bit too much sausage in here, we should look into balancing that out…”

“What is poker?” asked Thor.

“It’s game you play, with cards,” said Steve. He wasn’t half bad at it, actually, despite his easy-to-read face. “You bet money against each other.”

“So it is a wager?” Thor’s lip curled into a smile. “Interesting.”

“Yeah,” said Clint, “but Mr Party Animal here wants us to bet our clothes, not our money.”

“I’ve got money,” Tony shrugged, “I’ve got to keep things interesting somehow.” 

“Natasha has a point though,” said Bruce with a slight quirk of lips that was barely noticeable, but Steve had learnt meant he was teasing, “it’s hardly very inventive. For you.”

“Ooo, burn,” said Clint. Pepper smirked into her glass of wine.

Tony narrowed his eyes at Bruce. “You pretend to be all cuddly when it suits you Banner, but you know how to hit a man where it hurts. Fine, you don’t like that, we can play something else. Strip Connect Four? Strip Monopoly? Strip Twister, oh I like that, we have a winner. Hey Bruce?”

“What?”

“Right hand green.”

The longer they sat there, the more reluctant Steve became to put an end to the good-natured bickering with their news. It felt like too sharp a veer in subject to just leap in to, and he wasn’t sure how to make it. He could talk about work no problem, but this kind of thing… well, it never had been a strong point. Absentmindedly, he looked across to Thor, who was practically glowing with the contentedness that came with good food and drink and company, and Steve found himself wanting to crawl up next to him and slot under his arm. Too bad he couldn’t in front of the others – wait. Perhaps they didn’t actually have to say anything to them, to struggle finding the right words that didn’t seem trite or overblown. They could just… let them find out. After a moment of hesitation, Steve bit his lip and shuffled closer to Thor’s side of the sofa. Thor blinked down at him in confusion, before he realised what Steve was doing, and unleashed a surprisingly sunny grin for the god of thunder. He draped his arm around Steve as easy as he’d been doing it his whole life, and pressed a quick, soft kiss to his cheek. Face hot but determined to see it through now they’d started – a damn sight easier with the comforting weight of Thor alongside him – Steve relaxed into the touch, and rested his head on Thor’s shoulder. It put him at ease, to feel so close to someone, enough so that he almost zoned out, Thor’s deep breathing underneath him and the whirring and yelling of the gameshow in the background turned low, and he forgot the others were even there, until – 

“What the fuck.” Tony. Of course. “Seriously?”

“What?” Steve mumbled into Thor’s shoulder, eyebrow raised in sleepy innocence.

“Oh that’s all you’re gonna say. ‘What?’” Tony shook his head. “I fucking _knew_ you guys were going at it.”

“The surprise in your tone suggests otherwise,” said Thor, not bothering to hide the smugness in his voice as he kissed the top of Steve’s head.

“Sit down Tony,” said Bruce as Tony began pacing irritably around the sofa. “And that’s great you two.”

“Thanks,” said Steve, with a genuine smile for the doctor. He’d been fretting so much about telling them all, that positive reactions hadn’t even been under consideration. “It’s early days yet, but we decided it was the sort of thing you all had to know.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Duty first, as ever.”

“You guys,” Pepper had set aside her wineglass and was grinning at them, ignoring Tony’s wounded look from where he lurked by a large pot plant that Steve was almost certain he hadn’t picked out himself, “that’s wonderful.”

“Yeah,” Clint raised his beer to them from where he sat at Natasha’s feet, slightly awkward but certainly not unhappy, “cool.”

“About time you all caught up,” Natasha stretched nonchalantly in her chair, in a way Steve was 98% sure was manufactured for effect, “it’s been lonely trying to think up wedding gifts for them all by myself.”

“You knew?” said Steve, unsurprised and amused, but still a little miffed she could just _know_ these things. 

“Of course.” 

“But it was only yesterday that we, uh...” he trailed off, face warm.

Natasha shrugged. “The signs were all there if you know how to read ‘em.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Some actual serious business goes down, and the newspapers get nosey.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven’t been totally happy with the last couple chapters, I need to step up my game a little. Thanks to anyone who left comments/kudos, it helps me power through poor first drafts : )  
> There’s a couple of homophobic comments near the end of the chapter, really nothing intense, but just a warning in case anyone finds it upsetting. That sounds a lot more dramatic than it is pfft.

“Shit, Tony,” said Steve as Iron Man took out one of the strange creatures they’d been sent to subdue a few miles upstate, blasting half a deli away in the process, “be more careful, would you? We want them rounded up intact, not blown to bits.”

“You kiss your boyfriend with that mouth?” came Tony’s retort, and Steve distinctly heard Thor laugh somewhere to his left. _Traitor._ “And he hit me first.”

“I don’t care who hit who first,” said Steve, eyes following one of the creatures as it stalked along the edge of a rooftop, “do what you’re told.”

Tony snorted, though he was noticeably less vigorous as he handed the now unconscious being over to the waiting SHIELD agents. “Whatever you say, mom.”

The Avengers had been called out following sightings of a group of strange and unidentifiable creatures prowling about a large town fifty miles due east of the empty base they’d infiltrated last week. Even though they seemed relatively docile, exploratory and wary rather than hostile, their unusual appearances had started to cause panic, the team summoned on the grounds that they weren’t sure exactly what it was they were dealing with. Aliens? Mutants? They sure as heck weren’t human.  
According to eye witnesses, they’d started out looking like regular people. Or perhaps not so regular in the way that they’d all been extraordinarily beautiful and at the peak of fitness, both men and women so poised and statuesque that most could pass for models. But when one had started climbing all over a man’s car and he’d yelled at it to scram, things had suddenly become less peaceable. It turned out that each creature, when it felt threatened or in danger, in the blink of an eye gained some hideous and deadly defect. One became a vivid green, tiny poisonous spines shooting up all over his skin. Another suddenly sprouted great leathery wings like a bat, complete with razor sharp talons. One hid in the shadows, the mottled fur of a leopard hiding it from sight until it pounced on one of the others. They didn’t seem to have speech, communicating through noises and body language.  
The flurry of the panicked crowd around them had riled them up and made them edgy and skittish. What had begun as cautious exploration, any damage accidental and to property rather than people, had escalated to full on destruction as the things turned on each other like animals and fought amongst themselves. Their loose pack mentality had gone utterly out of the window as they scrapped, every thing for itself.

It was only Steve, Tony and Thor sent out in the end. Widow and Hawkeye were elsewhere doing something classified on behalf of SHIELD, and Bruce was as always reluctant to go unless they really needed him, or the Hulk, as it may be. In this case he judged he’d do more harm than good, if the strange, panicked creatures they were trying to subdue were so easily spooked, especially as SHIELD wanted them captured unharmed. But things were going more smoothly than usual, the task becoming more of a case of rounding them up to cart them off someplace safe and away from the public rather than taking them out, as would be a more typical mission.

Things had been going well enough, though there’d been one or two near misses – a man Steve had mistakenly thought to be a civilian and had shouted at to get somewhere safe had in fact been one of the hybrids, and in the time it took for Steve to realise his mistake, the man had morphed to become startlingly leonine, eyes yellow and fangs bared, snapping at Steve and loping away before he’d even had time to lift his shield as he stared in shock. Now there were only one or two left prowling about the streets, and those that had already been caught seemed docile enough now they were in a controlled environment. 

“Is that the last?” said Thor, landing on the low roof of a diner as Steve eased a girl that was snapping at him with teeth more suited to a wolf than a human into a secure SHIELD vehicle. 

“I think so,” said Steve, wiping at his forehead as she was safely handed over, the van locked up and moving off down the street. Where the heck had these things come from? Never mind that, how had they even come to exist? They had some serious digging to do. “Tony’s just doing a last sweep downtown.”

“Very well,” Thor smiled down at him, lifting a hand to shade his eyes from the sun, “then we can – “ 

The rest of his words were cut off as one of the hybrids, the leonine man that had evaded Steve earlier, leapt up on the roof behind Thor, rushing him and digging his claws into his shoulders, swiping at Thor’s face as he twisted around to shake him off.

“Thor!” Steve hauled himself up onto the roof, but before he could even do anything, Thor had punched the creature off of him, leaving it lying out cold on the roof top, lips still curled in a snarl as blood ran from its nose. “Dammit. Are… are you alright?”

“Aye,” Thor nudged the leonine man, now reverted back to his wholly human form with his loss of consciousness, with his boot. “This one took offence with me, it seems,” he grinned, blood dripping from his chin.

“This isn’t funny, Thor. Jeez…” Steve reached up to the gashes the creature had left with its claws across the right side of Thor’s face, but drew short of touching them. They were nasty – luckily only shallow, but jagged and vicious. 

“I do not see why it troubles you,” Thor frowned in confusion, “it is a mere scratch. It will be healed by the time the sun has set.”

“Yeah? Well it could have taken your eye out,” he said hotly. “What then, you grow a new one?”

“But it didn’t.” 

“Look, that’s not even the point,” Steve said tightly, lowering his hand and clenching it at his side. Thor was right; he would heal just fine and was more than capable of looking after himself. He knew Thor didn’t need him to fuss over him like that; hell, he would have been a little irritated himself had their positions been reversed and it was Thor checking up on him, but it was hard not to worry. He worried over all of them when they were in combat, it couldn’t be helped. “I’d rather you just avoided getting shredded in the first place rather than counting on it to heal quick later on.” 

“Steven,” Thor put a hand on his shoulder, it’s warm weight more of a comfort than he’d expected, “I will be fine, you know I will. There’s no need to trouble yourself.”

Steve bit his lip. “I know,” he slumped, relenting, letting Thor pull him into a hug, “just… it wouldn’t hurt to be more careful, you know?”

Thor laughed, a deep, rumbling belly laugh that Steve felt through his own body. “When am I not careful?” Steve pulled back a little to raise an eyebrow at him. “I admit I oftentimes get caught in the thrill of the chase,” Thor conceded, “but I am not the only one on this team guilty of being reckless.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Steve said.

“I believe it was just last month that a certain Captain jumped off a roof to assist an injured woman when some of his team mates _who can fly_ would have done so in his stead.”

“That was different,” Steve said into Thor’s shoulder, “I was directly saving a civilian, not just letting my fighting get sloppy.”

“Mind who you call ‘sloppy,’ Captain,” Thor’s voice was low as he tilted Steve’s chin up for a kiss, eyes bright with good humour despite the blood on his face, and dammit he really needed to get those cuts seen to, whether he healed quickly or not. Thor’s thumb brushed his lip. But maybe it could wait until after they – 

“Eww,” Tony landed heavily a few feet away with a spray of gravel, and Steve pulled back sharply to glare at him. “Mom, dad, stop canoodling in front of the kids.”

“Man of Iron,” Thor released Steve to slap Tony on the back, “ a clean victory, no?”

“Sure,” he said as Thor hefted the still unconscious hybrid over his shoulder, “but let’s make tracks. I heard the word ‘paperwork’ more than once from the SHIELD guys, and that’s something I really don’t need right now.”

“Tony – “

“Also that bear-girl licked my face when I had the helmet up, and as much as I appreciate the sentiment, I’d really like to shower the bear drool off.”

~

Steve was slow to wake up the next morning. He may have had trouble getting to sleep sometimes, but once he did, he slept heavy, much to the others’ amusement. And though he’d gotten pretty good at rousing himself quickly in an emergency, sometimes he just plain didn’t want to get up. Still groggy, he sat up and rubbed at his heavy eyes. It was a little before nine. Breakfast then, before anything else, and then he’d see if anyone was about to spar; Natasha maybe, if she was back and not too tired. The scuffle with the hybrids yesterday hadn’t been so major that he was still feeling it, and a workout would smooth out any remaining kinks. His phone made its shrill beeping noise from where it sat on the nightstand, and in an attempt to wake himself up a little before heading to the kitchen, he picked it up. He had an email.

_**Hey Cap,**_  
_**I know you prefer hard copies old man, but I thought you might want a heads up and this was the easiest way to do it. Also Bruce wouldn’t let me come show you in person, the party pooper.**_  
_**Enjoy,**_  
_**Tony.**_

__This… couldn’t be good. The message had numerous attachments, some of the titles of which looked mighty unsavoury. What the heck had he done now to merit such media attention? Yesterday had hardly been out of the ordinary, in fact it was pretty tame compared to their usual standards. So much for an easy morning. Sighing, he leant back on his pillows and tapped open the first link. He might as well get it over with._ _

__The first link led to an image search, which was predominantly made up of shots of he and Thor and Tony subduing the strange animal-human hybrids the day before, though after a quick scan, it was obvious a majority of them were focused on the same moment. The photographs were all very similar – given that the danger of the situation had dissipated quickly, amateur photographers and kids with their camera phones had managed to get quite a few shots of the events before the news teams had gotten through – showing the same scene but in varying quality from a few slightly different angles. It was he and Thor up on the roof top, just after the lion man had jumped on Thor. His own face was mostly covered by his uniform, so fortunately the look of desperate relief he knew he’d been sporting wasn’t obvious. But that didn’t much matter when Thor had him pulled into a tight hug, Steve’s body held close as his finger hovered nervously by the gashes along Thor’s face. There was nothing untoward about it really, but knowing the media – which unfortunately he did – they would read too much into it. Now able to take a guess at what lay ahead in the rest of the attachments, he closed the image search and moved onto the next link._ _

__It turned out to be a personal blog belonging to an artist apparently well-known online for their Avengers fan art – a concept Tony had gleefully explained to them all after the internet became awash with it after their appearance in New York. He was almost afraid to open it, and yep, sure enough there was an (admittedly well drawn) sketch of he and Thor embracing on the roof top, clearly modelled after the actual photographs, but the composition altered so that the two of them were kissing deeply, and Thor’s hands were decidedly lower than they had been in reality. Huh. Well… he guessed he could at least admire the skill it had taken. Red in the face, he closed the link and banished images of himself melting into Thor’s arms drawn by a stranger on the internet, and moved on to what he’d been putting off – the gossip sites._ _

__To his dismay, the very first one he opened was a short piece from the same trashy paper that had printed the ridiculous ‘article’ about the two of them at the coffee shop a few days back. After scanning through it as quickly as possible, he determined it was just packed with shoddy guess work and cheesy alliteration as its predecessor._ _

__\---_ _

_While it’s not quite the concrete proof we’re all waiting for, it looks like we were pretty close in our suspicions about the relationship between superhero superhunks Thor and Captain America. This touching scene was captured after an incident in a small town upstate yesterday afternoon. While it could just be a simple hug after a job well done, their proximity appears to be a little more than brotherly, and we’re willing to bet that there’s more between these two blond beefcakes than meets the eye. Should it happen, let’s hope these boys are selling tickets, because this reporter wouldn’t mind a front row seat to that sexy spandex showdown._

__\---_ _

__Exasperated by how little these people needed to craft a ‘news’ story, Steve closed the article, hoping he’d never have to read a word of that rag ever again. No such luck, as the next link opened a regular feature of that same paper that apparently took a subject trending on Twitter and printed a selection of opinions on it. Along with the obligatory picture of he and Thor, there were half a dozen or so tweets printed alongside it._ _

__\---_ _

_Damn that’s hot. Sign me up to The Avengers, I want me a piece of that._

_Ahhh they’re so cute! I ship it._

_The world needs to f**king chill and focus on real issues, not that two over-muscled dudebros gave each other a hug. Wake up and grow up._

_I’d sell my own mom if I got to be in the middle of that muscle sandwich._

_I’m disgusted. If it’s left up to these fags to ‘protect’ us, then I sure as hell don’t want it._

__\---_ _

__He closed the link, and tried not to think too hard on what he’d just read. Every comment made him uncomfortable in its own way, the last one in particular, and dwelling on them wouldn’t do anybody any good. Ever since the serum, he’d received both flack and flattery as Captain America, and getting too invested in either had never proved beneficial. Not that that made it any easier to ignore. As trite as it sounded, he was still just a kid from Brooklyn, and seeing the details of his life splashed about like it was news was something he never could have anticipated, and one of the main things about his new life he still wasn’t sure how to deal with. One thing he was sure of – he and Thor wouldn’t be going public any time soon if he could help it. Steeling himself, he moved on to the next attachment._ _

__The remainder of the articles weren’t too bad, really. All overblown gossip, but not particularly insulting. Most seemed to consist of neutral speculation of his sexuality, dragging up every picture they could get hold of of him standing close to one of his team mates to fill up all the empty space on the page left by information too scant to make up the quota. There were even a couple of old ones of he, Peggy and Bucky dredged up, which he usually enjoyed looking at in a morbid sort of way, but in this context it was just irritating and belittling. Feeling more tired than he should have so early in the day, he decided that was about all he could stomach for now. He shut off his phone before he got angry, and headed for the shower._ _


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like it when Thor calls Steve 'little one,' okay? I will do it to death, I don't care.

Steve didn’t really feel all that better after taking a shower. But it was easier to pretend he did, after he’d shaved and put on a clean shirt, and at least looked as though he had some sort of control over proceedings. It was a habit from before – back in his old body, he’d had to make the most of what he had, and always looked tidy if he could help it. Back alley brawls aside, that is. Smoothing back a few stray hairs, he made his way to the kitchen.   
It was a bit later than he’d usually head down for breakfast, but he didn’t expect to find the others still milling about the kitchen diner and the living room, picking at breakfast food and sipping coffee. Bruce was finishing off Steve’s abandoned crossword puzzles from the papers a few days back, spare pen stuck behind his ear as he filled in the answers with barely a moment’s thought. Natasha was eating Honey Nut Cheerios out of the box, flicking the odd one across the room to Clint, who caught each one expertly in his mouth. It was only a matter of time before they moved on to trick shots. 

“Morning Cap,” said Tony from where he was leaning over the counter, soldering something together, “toaster’s currently out of commission, just fyi.”

“You… that’s the toaster?” Steve frowned at the mess of screws and wires and other debris littering the work surface.

“Yep.”

“Apparently it wasn’t functioning to the best of its ability,” said Bruce dryly, without looking up.

“It’s okay,” said Steve, “I was gonna have fruit anyway.”

He was gathering a selection of whatever caught his eye from the fridge when he felt a warmth at his back. Before he could blink, there was a thick arm around his middle, and a warm set of lips pressing a kiss to the back of his neck.

“Good morning,” said a low voice in his ear, and he involuntarily squashed the handful of grapes he was holding.

“Hey,” Steve leant back into Thor’s hold without a second thought, breathing in the crisp, woodsy scent of the soap he used, and tipped his head back to rest on Thor’s shoulder. He let himself be turned slightly so they could kiss properly, a kiss somehow both chaste and heavy with want – a perfect kiss to sum up Thor really, decisive and respectful, but full of enthusiasm and just a little bit dirty. Thor’s warm hand slid under the fabric of his shirt to brush the skin at the small of his back, and Steve parted his lips for him, letting himself be drawn into the comfort of his hold. Then a Cheerio hit him on the side of the head.

“Booo, get a room,” Clint called across the kitchen, and threw another Cheerio at them for good measure. It bounced off of Steve’s nose. Amidst their chuckling, he glared at them all in an attempt to cover up his embarrassment at things having got so involved in the middle of the kitchen. Thor just laughed and ate the Cheerio.

“Your aim never fails, Hawkeye,” he kissed Steve on the temple before moving aside to lounge against the side of the counter, leaving him to finish putting together his breakfast.

“I should damn well hope not,” said Natasha, “or else what are we keeping him around for.”

“So Cap, was it just me, or did that guy who drew the two of you making out on the roof spend waaay to much time shading your butt?” Tony said cheerfully as he began reassembling the toaster. Bruce audibly choked on his tea.

“Well, it is one of his greatest ass-sets,” said Clint, as Natasha groaned and punched him on the arm. “Ouch! Right, Thor?” 

Thor grinned but said nothing, and Steve was again reminded how tactful he could be when the situation called for it. People assumed he was blunt and argumentative, which sure, he was on occasion, but he was far from the blundering caveman Steve had taken him for when they first crossed paths. He was royalty for god’s sake, of course he had some grasp of diplomacy. Or that’s what he would have been thinking, if he wasn’t too busy being mortified. 

“Do we really have to talk about this?” said Steve. “I’m assuming you’ve all already read the articles, so can’t we just leave it at that.”

“Well we could,” said Tony, “but that would be absolutely no fun at all.”

Steve opened his mouth to retort, but Thor put a hand on his shoulder. “It is of no consequence to me,” he said, “nothing but petty gossip and suspicion. You should not let it trouble you so.”

“I know,” he said quietly, trying to pretend it wasn’t obvious that all the others were listening in, “but it being all over the internet like that… it just gets to me, is all.” 

“But there are many that claim our union would bring them happiness,” said Thor, “do you not believe them to be sincere?”

“Yeah, but not everyone would be so happy about it, believe me,” attitudes to homosexuality had changed, sure, but he was certain there would be a fair amount of people far from happy about the fact that Captain America was into guys just as much as girls. Thank God it was still just rumour, as far as the rest of the world knew. “But that’s not even the point, I just… I don’t like seeing it all over the papers like it’s news. Surely there’s more important things to be worrying about?”

“Sure there are,” said Bruce, pushing the finished crossword away to stand up, “but some people enjoy the distraction.”

“I know it sucks Cap,” said Tony, in something close to seriousness, “but take it from somebody who’s been there – it’s not real. They don’t get to dictate who you are. Remember that.”

“I – “ Steve hesitated, taken aback by Tony’s rare moment of sincerity, “thanks, Tony.”

“No problem,” he grinned and screwed the final piece of the toaster back into place. “And if some idiot takes it too far, I’ll sue their ass.” 

 

~

 

Though he’d felt considerably brighter after everyone’s pep talk at breakfast, by late afternoon grim reality had returned, and Steve was poking about his bedroom in search of a distraction. There was only so much time he could spend in the gym, and he didn’t feel like going for a run in the park – if somebody papped him in his current mood, it was pretty likely he’d swing a punch. He’d eventually settled on trying to read something. His list to catch up on was still dauntingly long, but in the end instead of reading something new, he ended up leafing through a children’s book of fairy tales. It was one he’d sought out himself rather than one of the ‘classics’ on all the lists of best sellers JARVIS had found for him. It was similar to the one his mother had used to read to him when he was sick, and while it was far from challenging, he liked the familiarity it provided. And in his current mood, it was easier to find distraction by looking over the illustrations, rather than trying to concentrate on the words themselves.

“Steven?” Thor’s knock at the door pulled him sharply out of the story of Rapunzel, “may I come in?”

“Sure,” Steve called from where he sat on the bed, looking up from where his fingers trailed along the image of the princess’s golden hair, “it’s open.”

Thor let himself in, still dressed in his Asgardian finery from his brief visit there that afternoon. It seemed mad that he could just shoot off to another world – Planet? Galaxy? Steve still wasn’t one hundred percent clear on the technicalities – for a few hours and then reappear, as easy as opening a door. 

“How are you faring?” said Thor, his cape billowing behind him as he strode into the room, and maybe Steve had been engrossed in the fairy stories for too long, but it was like looking at a goddamn knight right out of the pages of his book.

“You weren’t gone long,” said Steve, setting the book aside. Normally, Thor would be gone for days at a time, a week even, if it was called for. To go to Asgard and back in one day was a trip made only in cases of dire emergency, or so Thor had told him once. As it was, he’d left shortly after breakfast and it was only seven o’clock now. To Steve’s knowledge, nothing had happened to warrant such a hasty return. 

Thor shrugged and placed his helmet on Steve’s desk, Mjolnir on the floor next to it. “It was only a small matter for which my father wished to hear my counsel; any further time I spent away would be purely for leisure.” He hesitated, something rare enough to give Steve cause for worry. “And I was concerned for you.”

“There’s no need, really. I’m fine.” Steve’s assurances sounded falsely bright even to his own ears, his patience wearing thin after a lousy start to the day and an endless afternoon to dwell on it all.

“It did not appear that way to me,” Thor frowned and moved towards him. “I admit I am not always the most skilled at guessing people’s feelings, but this morning you – “ 

“Thor, just leave it.” His hands twisted in the bedsheets.

“Steven – “

“Would you just call me Steve, jeez,” he said, unable to keep his irritation over the entire situation in check any longer, “and stop talking to me like I’m a kid. If I say I’m fine, I’m fine.” He had a moment to feel guilty about the annoyance and hurt on Thor’s face before he’d smoothed it out into something more neutral.

“You are clearly still upset, _Steve,”_ said Thor pointedly, and Steve winced, “and I see now I was right to return early.”

“Yeah well, you still didn’t have to.”

“Perhaps not, but I wanted to, is that not enough? Now would you kindly stop arguing and permit me to comfort you,” said Thor firmly, holding out a hand to him, “it won’t hurt you know. There is no shame in it.” 

Something about the way Thor was looking at him, with piercing sincerity and a touch of concern as he offered a hand to him made Steve felt like the biggest jerk in the world. Thor was trying to make him feel better, and he was throwing it all right back at him. Sure, it would take more than a hug and a few nice words to make this go away, but arguing sure as hell wouldn’t solve anything either, and he should damn well know better. Not that it was ever that easy in practice. “I’m sorry,” with a sigh, he took Thor’s hand and let him pull him to his feet, “I’m not dealing with this very well.”

“So it seems,” said Thor with a wry smile, pulling Steve into a hug and pressing a brief kiss to his lips, “perhaps if you would let us face it together, things would not be so challenging.”

“Deal,” Steve said, managing a small smile. 

“You know, you have a terrible habit of attempting to carry a burden entirely on your own shoulders when it could be shared.”

“Oh yeah? I know for a fact I’m not the only one living in this tower guilty of that.” He shook his head, weak smile faltering. “But you should know… I think it’s going to be long while before I’m comfortable going public about this. Us.”

“As I said before, it is of no matter to me,” said Thor. “I would be proud for all the world to know that you are mine and I yours, Steve, you know that. But if it is your wish to for it to remain a thing of privacy, a thing that is ours alone, then I will respect that.”

Steve couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face at Thor’s words. He was damn lucky to have found someone so easy to be with, someone who got him, willing to carry his baggage as well as all the crap Steve knew Thor already had to deal with. But he couldn’t bring himself to say something so sappy out loud, not yet anyway, so instead just pulled him down for a kiss. It was sweet and soft, a thank you Steve couldn’t quite find a way to put into words, but hoped Thor understood it all the same. They stood together in the orange glow that seeped in through the window as the sun began to set, stark stripes between the buildings that warmed their skin as they exchanged soft, slow kisses and shy smiles, foreheads resting together as they breathed the same air, feeling as though they were the only two beings in all the world.  
In the end it was Steve’s patience that gave out first. He drew Thor’s bottom lip between his teeth to deepen the kiss, sucking gently as Thor’s stubble grazed his chin. Thor grunted and parted Steve’s lips with his tongue, and Steve made an involuntary noise in the back of his throat, hand flying to the back of Thor’s neck to bring him closer. Without breaking his hold, Thor walked him back across the room until the backs of his legs hit the desk, knocking a jar of pencils to the floor. It creaked under their weight as Steve settled to lean more heavily against it, baring his neck to Thor’s eager open mouthed kisses.

“Little one,” Thor purred into his neck, and something about Thor calling him little made his face flush hotter and squirm under his touch. 

“Damn,” Steve murmured, and, unable to think of anything more eloquent to add, grabbed Thor for another kiss. 

Thor obliged with enthusiasm, his kisses hard but touches soft, hands tracing along Steve’s upper arms, his shoulders, gently cupping his jaw and curving around the small of his back, thorough and loving, as a sculptor might gauge his own work. But Steve wanted more, wanted to be able to feel Thor hard against him, as desperate as Steve felt. Still Thor’s touches remained soft, not teasingly so, but Steve suspected out of consideration for him. And while it was sweet of him to be so careful, Steve was just about at his wits end, the tender, steady contact maddening rather than the comfort it was intended as. Eventually, his impatience won out and he tried to sit up under Thor’s gentle touches.

“Thor?”

“Mm?” He hummed against Steve’s throat, deep and ticklish on his skin.

“Please just – “ he floundered to find the right words and gave in with a frustrated groan when they refused to materialise, “I won’t break, dammit.”

Thor’s laugh was low and husky in his ear. “I am well aware,” he leant back to look at him, eyes dark with want and rough fingertips resting carefully on each side of his face, “I have seen you in battle, remember. I only wish to ensure that this is a moment of significance for you, for us, as such an occasion would be among my people on Asgard.”

“Yeah?” Steve valiantly ignored the tremor in his own voice. It was hard not to get a little weak in the knees, when Thor said stuff like that. 

“It is sacred, that first time, whether you remain with the person who shares it with you or not. It… marks a change in you.” Huh. It actually was quite sweet when he put it like that, or rather it was until Thor grinned sharply in a manner disturbingly similar to his brother. “But if you insist, Captain…” 

And just like that, Thor’s entire demeanour changed. He crushed his mouth to Steve’s, pushing against him hard enough to make the desk bang against the wall, it’s legs creaking ominously underneath them. Surprised, Steve took hard breaths through his nose, determined to give as good as he got, and brought his leg up to hook around the backs of Thor’s thighs, tipping him closer. Despite the somewhat precarious position, the angle was perfect for their bodies to meld, chest to chest, hips pressed together and thighs tangled. Damn Thor’s armour… it might have looked good on him, but the heaviness of it was stopping Steve from feeling him as well as he’d have liked. Feeling daring, and far enough gone under Thor’s clever touches to throw caution to the wind, Steve slid his hands down over Thor’s ass, gripping hard, desperate to make him feel something through all that damned infuriating armour. 

He swore in a language Steve was pretty sure wasn’t English, and spun Steve around so he was facing the wall, his hands flat on the surface of the desk and Thor pressed tight along the length of his back. Thor kissed at the back of his neck, muttering obscenities as he rucked up Steve’s t-shirt to play with his chest, palms rubbing over his pecs and blunt nails scraping his skin. At a particularly hard pinch to his nipple, Steve leant his weight fully on the desk, his palm splintering the wood underneath it. Fortunately he had just enough presence of mind left to drag Thor away from the desk before it gave way entirely, despite the demigod’s protests, and over to the bed. 

“I’d feel bad if we broke it,” he muttered in explanation against Thor’s lips as they fell onto the sheets, ignoring the creak of the bed underneath them that was almost as loud as the desk.

“I very much doubt Stark would miss it,” Thor retaliated, and Steve was about to reprimand him for even mentioning Tony while they were doing this, but then Thor stuck his hand down Steve’s pants and he forgot how to use words.

Together, and making him feel kinda like a randy kid with his date in the back seat of a car, they wriggled Steve out of his clothes, so quick he didn’t have the time to get embarrassed about it. Thor’s shedding of his armour was swift and methodical, and something Steve fully intended to take a long while doing himself sometime, but today was not that day. And while Thor’s body was beautiful to look at, damn was it ever, there was so much more to it than that. While just the sight of him was enough to make Steve’s mouth go dry, the feel of him was even better, hard muscle and hot skin and tension thrumming all over his body. He wondered if he felt the same to Thor.   
Admittedly, Steve hadn’t given much thought to the logistics of it all, so when they were both finally out of their clothes, he let Thor ease him back down onto the bed and take the lead, covering him with his body.

It was mostly a haze, a rushing blur of sensations and feelings, burning hot skin and the strange impression of being both heavy and light all at once. Steve was pretty sure embarrassment did rock up at some point, but was banished as quick as it had come under Thor’s assurances and fervent touches. There was the odd awkward moment where they bumped heads or had to give each other direction, but they smiled through it and Steve was once again distracted by Thor’s passionate mapping of his body. He was utterly lost in the dull ache of arousal, rising and dipping until it ended in a rolling wave of pleasure that left him gasping and wrung out.

It was still pretty early when they crawled under the sheets, the sun barely down and the horizon still light with a pinkish glow, but Steve was too drowsy and aching to even consider doing much else. Though it may have felt like a cloudy day, as Thor pulled him into his arms to lay back against the pillows, pressing a sleepy kiss to his temple and launching into an a rant about whatever it was his father had said to him that afternoon, Steve felt like there was a little more sunshine in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to have to shuffle the plot about a bit - I was looking at my notes for the next chapter, and it was pretty much just more sex. Which is great and all, but I feel I should at least make a token effort on the plot front.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This whole thing grew a rather dubious side plot I don’t know what’s going on anymore. There are probably a billion continuity errors, I hope it still makes sense haa. I said before that it didn’t matter when this was set, but I think by now it’s kind of obvious it has to be before Cap 2, you know, before SHIELD all goes to shit etc.   
> You guys left some really lovely comments after the last chapter, so thanks : )

Almost a week had passed since their scrap with the animal-human hybrids – along with the brief moment of affection between Steve and Thor that had been blown out of proportion by the press and the public alike – and things had more or less relaxed back into the domestic rhythm that Steve never would have imagined them all capable of. If the two of them happened to venture outside of the tower together, it was easy enough for him to go on as he had done before; just hanging out with his buddy, friendly but not too close. The occasional tightness in Thor’s expression as they picked up coffee or took a walk somewhere suggested he didn’t find the physical distance quite so easy to bear, and with each tiny flare of guilt it brought Steve silently promised to make it up to him somehow.   
It was a different matter in the privacy of the tower. Public life aside, Steve found himself getting less worked up about showing Thor the affection he deserved in front of the others – to a certain extent of course, there were limits – and could now accept a kiss or soft touch from Thor in their presence without doing an involuntary tomato impersonation. Thor had never had any such reservations about it in the first place. However, once or twice when Steve had forgotten himself, or not realised somebody had walked into the room after things had kicked up a notch, it became apparent the other inhabitants of the tower had no qualms about intervening for the sake of their sanity. Things had escalated since the Cheerio incident – on Tuesday for example, Thor had grabbed Steve by the hips and spun him into a deep kiss in the middle of the living room. Steve couldn’t rightly say how long it lasted, but it was abruptly cut short when Tony threw a lamp at them. Thor had chased him over the entire floor of the tower for that. But despite being so careful and keeping it all in the tower, the papers still found gossip fodder in their day to day actions. 

\---

_**Spotted!**_  
 _There’s no use in pretending that the chiselled torso of Captain America doesn’t grace our pages at every given opportunity, but our readers get a bonus this week in the form of Thor, pictured here accompanying his fellow Avenger for a run in the park. We’ll leave you to recover from the acres of abs on display with the thought that jogging almost certainly isn’t the only thing that leaves these two boys all hot and bothered. Yikes._

-

_Avenger Thor was seen this week at a downtown ice cream parlour with a woman who is believed to be physicist Jane Foster. The two appeared very comfortable in each other’s company, knocking spoons as they shared a mammoth sundae, and sharing secretive laughs behind the menus in a cosy private corner. Does this mean the recent rumours surrounding the relationship of Thor and fellow Avenger Captain America are false? Is Thor cheating? Or are he and Ms Foster just good friends? Watch this space._

-

_Distracting from the Knicks game this week was the presence of the Avengers. Though not all the team were present, it was hard for fans to miss Captain America, Thor and the bow-wielding wonderboy known only as ‘Hawkeye.’ Despite their seats being in a reserved section set aside for special guests, the three still garnered a great deal of attention from the crowd, and were invited down by the team themselves after the game to take a few photos and swap stories (see top right.) But for us, one of the most telling snaps of the evening is this one taken by a fan (bottom right.) Captain America and Hawkeye seem practically in each other’s pockets, ecstatic over the outcome of the game, while Thor is left alone to the side, and looking distinctly unhappy about the proximity of his team mates. Is he jealous? Are things not all sunshine and rainbows between him and the Captain? Or maybe he’s just not a big fan of the Knicks._

\---

Thankfully, the latest batch of utterly ridiculous gossip articles were nothing more than weak speculation and grasping at straws rather than deeply invasive. The first article he barely glanced at – that particular rag and its goddamn trivial feature were getting easier to push aside – and the second was so far from the truth it would have funny, if he weren’t so offended on Thor’s behalf. And Jane’s, actually – she’d popped in to the tower to say hi before she and Thor went out, and had been as friendly and politely inquisitive as ever. She also happened to let slip she’d been on a few dates, though she’d blushed and refused to say who with when asked.   
The final one was frankly bizarre, though Thor found it greatly amusing, partly because of its Midgardian triviality, and partly because the expression the camera had caught on Steve’s face was apparently ‘most adorable.’ The photo that accompanied the article had caught Steve and Clint cheering the game’s outcome, and Thor looking admittedly quite murderous beside them. But what the idiot who wrote the damn thing didn’t know was that it was only because the finer points of the rules still escaped Thor, and the frown he wore was one of confusion over the scoring system, not jealousy fuelled rage. It also had the unfortunate side effect of Clint unleashing what felt like his entire repertoire of pick-up lines on Steve whenever he got the chance. Fortunately the exact meaning of most of them went over Thor’s head. Long story short, though the press attention was irritating, and the thought of them discovering the truth about he and Thor still made him feel nauseous, the odd dumb gossip column didn’t seem like the worst thing in the world anymore. 

~

Work had always proved a valuable distraction for Steve to fall back on if he needed to, and this time was no different. Though it hadn’t been necessary for the Avengers to be called on again after the strange hybrids had been rounded up the week before, SHIELD was still investigating the matter; running tests on a number of the creatures still in their custody, and numerous agents digging for more information. Agents that just happened to include Clint and Natasha. 

“It’s where we were last week,” said Natasha breezily, as she lifted herself to sit on the kitchen counter, “while you three were playing tag with the hybrids – “ 

“And having eye sex on the rooftops of shitty diners,” Clint cut in without looking away from the rerun of Next Top Model he was frowning at. 

“We were not having – “

“Me and Barton,” Natasha spoke deliberately over him, “were called out on a job for SHIELD, as you know. We didn’t think it had anything to do with the appearance of the hybrids until later, but I had a call from Fury this morning that confirmed it.”

“You mean you already suspected?”

“Oh, he’s using his disappointed dad voice,” said Clint, “put a dollar in the jar.”

Steve ignored him. “Natasha, you thought there was a chance our two operations were linked, and you didn’t think to say anything?”

“Of course I did,” she rolled her eyes and looked mildly offended, “but it wasn’t necessary to report to you until we were sure. Until this morning, it was purely a SHIELD matter, not under Avengers jurisdiction.”

“Alright, fine,” he gave in. “Fire away.”

“We were called in concerning the kidnapping of the son of one of the SHIELD high-ups,” Natasha began, concise and direct as ever, “our job was to get him back with minimum fuss. It was believed to be a standard ransom case – a family member of somebody wealthy and influential taken purely for monetary gain. When we arrived at the location we thought he was being held at, it was empty. We were planning our next move when we got the call from the cops. He’d been found.”

“I’m guessing things didn’t turn out as clean cut as you’d thought,” said Steve.

“How’d you guess?” said Clint, tossing a grin over his shoulder.

“It was… pretty messed up,” Natasha conceded, and Clint snorted. “He’d been found dumped by the side of the road, not discreetly, and still alive. We knew from the report that this kid was far from small – he was nineteen, and a semi-pro swimmer – but he didn’t look right.”

“Oh?” Steve got the feeling he wasn’t going to like what was coming next. 

“We believe he was taken by the same person or organisation who made the hybrids you guys played with last week. Only with this guy, something went wrong. The splicing failed and he was ditched in the night sporting a shiny new set of gills –“

“And other messed up fish features,” cut in Clint. 

“Shark, to be exact,” said Natasha.

“Ok,” said Steve, not sure what to do with the information quite yet, “that’s… disturbing.”

“Yep,” Natasha smiled grimly. “The situation as it stands is that we’ve got some whacko scientist taking people off the street and combining their DNA with other species, and seeing as the subjects we’ve found so far are sporting similarities to animals normally considered dangerous rather than ponies and kittens, I’d say his endgame is using them as weapons, rather than purely biological experimentation.”

“Just another day at the office,” said Clint dryly.

“We got any ID on this guy?” Steve asked.

“Not yet,” Natasha shook her head, “SHIELD’s still looking into it, but until they dig something up or this guy makes another move, we’re stuck.”

“What about the… subjects?” he said, disliking the term but unable to think of another. “Has anyone tried asking them about the guy who took them.”

“They haven’t said anything.”

“Won’t talk?”

“Can’t,” Natasha said. “We don’t know if it’s a side effect or by design, but this guy’s wiped out their speech skills. They may well be able to be taught speech again, but for now they communicate in sounds and body language. Like animals.”

“I saw,” going on his experience with the hybrids, Steve could believe it. “Do the others know about this?” 

“No,” Natasha shrugged. “Now we know it’s a matter for both the attention of SHIELD and the Avengers and Fury’s given the OK, I’m reporting to you first, being our gracious leader and all,” she smirked at his wince of discomfort. “I’ll leave it up to you to decide if and when the others need to know.”

“Right,” Steve frowned in thought. The rest of the team would have to be told – since it linked back to their most recent mission and it was pretty likely they’d be called upon again if the matter escalated – they would need to know the details of what they were up against. “I’ll call a meeting in the morning,” he said, having made his decision. “Let’s get this evening out of the way first, and make the most of it without having to worry about this on top of it.”

“Right you are, Cap,” Clint flicked his hand in a lazy salute, and Natasha nodded curtly in agreement. 

“Speaking of which,” he glanced at the digital clock on the microwave, “it’s about time for us to suit up.” 

~

“Seriously man, how many freaking charities do you donate to?” said Clint, tugging at his bow tie as they gathered in the lobby of the tower that evening. It was obvious he didn’t get much enjoyment out of these sort of things and got a little twitchy, but calmed down some after an almost imperceptible hand squeeze from Natasha. 

“At last count, twenty three,” said Tony, infinitely more at home in formal attire than the others. The exception was Natasha, who wore her evening gown with ease and grace, but then she always appeared perfectly poised and at home in whatever she wore. Though the slinky red number that should have clashed horribly with her hair and yet somehow didn’t was a triumph even by her standards. 

“I think it’s good of you,” said Steve, taking care to stand up straight, in fear of wrinkling the sharp, deep blue suit he’d be wearing for the evening.

“Oh?” Tony raised an eyebrow. 

“Yeah,” Steve shrugged, “you might have more to give away than most, but you still do it, when you could just as easily not bother.” It sounded a little cheesy, and the last person on Earth whose ego needed stroking was Tony Stark’s, but it was the truth, and it was the sort of thing people tended to forget when they talked about Iron Man.

“You know, I suddenly like you a lot more, Captain Underpants,” said Tony, “remind me to get you a drink later.”

“It’s an open bar, Tony,” Bruce called from where he was frowning in the mirror, trying to get his hair under some semblance of control.

“Yeah. I can still physically get the man a drink, can’t I?” Tony tsked and rolled his eyes. “Semantics.”

The elevator pinged open, admitting Pepper – looking rather stunning in a clean cut silvery ball gown – and Thor, who looked… Put it this way, whatever tailor Tony had had to pay to fit the demigod’s suit had done a damn good job. Steve barely heard the others’ compliments and good natured ribbing at the rare sight of Thor in formal wear; he was too busy staring. The material of the three piece was sleek and grey, and perfectly tailored to allow for the comfort and ease of movement Thor favoured, and yet still looked sharp and well fitted. Steve was quite frankly speechless, and took care to close his gaping mouth quickly before somebody noticed.

“Looks pretty good, doesn’t he?” said Pepper, appearing silently at his elbow and making him jump.

“Uh, yeah,” Steve managed to choke out.

“I’m glad you think so,” she said with a conspiratorial smile, “I picked out the fabric. I was worried the colour would be a little too light, but I think it suits him, don’t you?”

“Uh huh.” He was dimly aware he should have perhaps said something more constructive, but…

Pepper laughed, and threaded her arm through his. “God, you’ve got it bad.”

“What?” he said, blinking himself out of his Thor-induced stupor. “What’s bad?”

“Come on,” she tugged gently at his arm, “you can walk me to the car.”

They all piled into one car for the short journey across town. Tony insisted on it, as a part of ‘team building or some shit.’ It was of course nothing more than a thinly veiled excuse to get the party started before they even got there, but as he looked around the back of the car to see them all tasting and swapping whatever gaudy drinks Tony had supplied for the occasion, laughing and leaning into each other’s space as if they’d known each other all their lives, it was hard for Steve to be judgemental about it.

It turned out to be a larger affair than Steve had expected, complete with a short stretch of red carpet going from the car to the front door of the hotel the event was to be held at. There were many other guests in attendance; other notable patrons of the charity, celebrities who supported it and the like, but none of them caught the attention of the press quite like the Avengers did when they stepped out of the car. The photographers and reporters perked up like predators catching the scent of blood the moment the seven of them set foot on the carpet, and set on them immediately with the flashes of a hundred cameras and hollering questions over the crowd. There was the usual cheering and catcalls, excited babbling as they stopped for the odd selfie or autograph for a fan. One man was bold enough to ask Thor for a hug, and he complied wholeheartedly as the man’s friends took a photo. Bruce was signing a copy of a science journal for a fan of his work, and Tony was signing an ecstatic girl’s chest as Pepper rolled her eyes in exasperation and checked her watch. The specifics may have changed, but it wasn’t really all that different from Steve’s days promoting war bonds – smiling and shaking hands and signing things with his face on. He was almost enjoying himself until the inevitable moment when one of the reporters crossed a line and asked the question he was dreading.

“Captain, is it true you that and Thor are an item?” 

He barely even heard it over the bellowing of all the other questions being fired at them, but it was enough for him to clam up and freeze like a rabbit in headlights. He was usually fine with people asking dumb questions or making assumptions at these kind of things, and he’d laugh it off or come up with a suitable response to keep them quiet. But the problem was that this time it was true, and he was a terrible liar, he felt like the answer was written all over his face.

“Time to go in, I think,” Natasha stepped smartly up to him and took his elbow, Clint already on her other side, and steered them both gently away from the flashes and the yelling, and towards the hotel. Steve managed to paste on a smile and give a little wave as they went, Thor gave one last fan a vigorous handshake and followed, while Bruce more or less dragged Tony away from an argument with some idiot reporter who’d apparently suggested he wasn’t aging well. Time to go in indeed. 

Fortunately after they went into the building itself the security was pretty tight, and Steve could forget about the awkward moment outside. There were a couple more official photographs in the lobby of them all holding champagne and shaking hands with various people Steve was told were important, but then they were more or less left to their own devices with no interruption from the press. They split up as they moved about the room, other guests introducing themselves – some friendly, some loftily, some a little gushing – and though Steve was careful to keep up the smiles and polite small talk, his mind wandered a little. His eyes wandered even more so, and eventually landed on Thor, speaking to an elderly couple next to the ice sculpture. He felt a little bad for thinking something so crass during a charity event for children, but damn Thor really did fill out his suit well. Steve was still relatively new to allowing himself to think about his friend in such a crude manner, and he felt his face heat up as he pondered how good it might be to pop the buttons on his waistcoat, slip his hands up Thor’s back and into his hair and mess him up a little. He was so lost in his imaginings of what Thor’s backside might feel like through the fabric of those impeccably fitting suit pants, that he failed to notice when the man himself approached him.

“You seem distracted, Steven,” said Thor with a lopsided smile as he handed him another drink from the tray of a passing waiter. Something light and fruity and non-alcoholic this time, thank God. There were one or two types of booze Steve still drank because he enjoyed the taste and the social aspect, but champagne was not one of them. He hated the stuff. He thought he’d been subtle about his distaste, but apparently Thor had noticed.

“Thanks,” he took the glass gratefully. “And do I?”

“Mm.”

“Well,” he began, voice carefully low under the chatter of the crowd, “it’s because some people happen to look very good in their Midgardian suits.”

“A sentiment I can agree with,” said Thor, evenly enough but the curl of his lip giving everything away. “I meant it before, when I said how well you look attired as such.”

Steve only had a split second to decide whether or not to follow through with the daring and idiotic but oh so tempting idea that had just popped into his head. “You know,” he said, hardly believing the words were leaving his lips, “I think I might’ve had a little too much of that Champagne after all. I’m gunna head to the bathroom.”

Thor blinked at him in confusion for a moment, before realisation dawned on his face and he looked like a kid at Christmas, until his lip curled and his eyes went dark with want, and that comparison became horribly inappropriate. “I feel I may have also overindulged. Permit me to accompany you?”

“I’d be delighted,” said Steve and set his drink down, the two of them turning to weave their way through the crowd towards the bathrooms.   
Steve’s palms were sweaty. It might have been a stupid thing to do, given how worked up he got over the thought of the nature of their relationship being made public, but Steve couldn’t help himself. He was tired of being so careful all the damn time, and – despite what Tony might say – he really wasn’t that uptight when it came to sex. Just new to it. And the thought of he and Thor going at it with nothing but a few walls and a locked door between them and a room full of people turned him on more than he expected. Nobody would know. Once the thought had taken root in his mind, he felt positively giddy and couldn’t shake it.

“Oh…” he tried to smother his moan as Thor pushed him back against the sink, tugging Steve’s shirt collar aside to mouth at his neck, sucking and nipping at the hot skin there.

“Someone will hear you little one, if you carry on so,” said Thor, voice low and hoarse, “unless that is what you want.”

“Oh God,” Steve bit his lip, letting his hand wander up into Thor’s hair, fingers tousling through it and tugging and messing it up like he’d wanted to all evening.

Thor palmed his ass roughly, making Steve gasp and arch up into him before moving to undo his belt. He pulled Steve’s shirt free, hands firm on his hips as he got to his knees, breath hot over the bulge in Steve’s suit pants. It was about then it hit Steve what it was Thor intended to do, and he gripped the edge of the sink behind him hard to stop his legs giving out at the notion.

“Thor,” he panted out as the other man tugged at the fastening of his pants, “you don’t have to do that.”

“’Have to’ has nothing to do with it Steven,” he said, pausing for a moment, eyes flicking away from his task to look Steve in the eye, “I want to.” That look sent another wave of heat all through Steve’s body, breath hitching as Thor slid his pants and underwear down to free his cock.  
Without a further moment’s hesitation, Thor took him into his mouth, and Steve threw his head back so hard he probably left a dent in the wall behind him. He felt Thor hum in amusement at his hiss of pain, and he closed his eyes as though it would somehow hold back the flood of arousal, gritting his teeth and trying not to cry out.

His eyes fluttered back open as Thor worked his tongue over him, and he met the eyes of his own reflection in the mirror on the wall opposite. He was taken aback by how utterly wrecked he looked; flushed and breathing heavy, eyes lidded and whole body tense with arousal as Thor’s head bobbed between his legs. It was the sight of it that made the tell-tale pressure in his belly build up, and he tried to hold himself back by thinking about something else, anything – the lurid purple the bathroom walls were painted, the faint smell of disinfectant carefully masked by a pot of lavender on the window sill, the fact that there was a toilet a few feet away from them – but any good it did was undone when Thor took him deeper than ever, hands splayed over his ass as he swallowed around his cock.

“Ah, Thor,” he said on a sharp intake of breath as he came, hands gripping the sink so hard that he heard the porcelain crack. He blanked out in momentary bliss as the intensity of his orgasm ebbed, and when he came back to himself, it was to see Thor swallowing hard and looking perfectly at ease, only the fast rise and fall of his chest giving him away, and a faint blush creeping down his neck.

“Exquisite,” said Thor, voice rough after what they’d done, and damned if the thought of it didn’t make Steve melt that little bit more. 

“Did you want me to – “

“No need,” Thor gently cut across him, “I shall take my pleasure later, if it suits you.”

“Whatever you want, buddy,” said Steve, steadying himself on shaky legs and attempting to tuck his shirt back into his pants. Thor laughed as they helped each other get straightened out, swapping one last kiss before moving to unlock the door and head back to the party. Steve hoped to God no one noticed the hairline cracks he’d left in the sink. He’d pay for it of course, but it was a conversation he’d really rather not have with the hotel manager. 

Steve re-entered the room first, after they agreed Thor would wait a minute in the hall – even he thought it might be a little obvious to walk back in together. He cast his eye quickly over the room in search of one of his team mates; he hadn’t come down quite enough yet that he could face making convincing small talk with a stranger. He spotted Natasha lurking by an overwrought lamp, sipping a martini and daring anyone to come closer. Perfect.

“Hey Nat,” he grabbed another non-alcoholic fruity fizzy thing from the table as he approached her.

She raised an eyebrow, looking over him almost imperceptibly. “Enjoying the party, Rogers?”

“It’s alright.”

“More than alright, I’d say. That was a rather long trip to the bathroom, Captain,” she said with a smirk. 

“Uh, was it?” He fumbled for the right thing to say, suddenly wishing he’d picked someone else to talk to. Though he doubted any of the others wold have been much better. “I didn’t really – “

“Have fun did you?” She flicked her eyes over to where Thor was gesturing with enthusiasm as he spoke to a little old lady who resembled a sparrow, but looked completely besotted by him. _Oh damn._ Busted. 

“Is it really that obvious?” He sighed in defeat, though he really shouldn’t have been surprised. The woman knew everything.

“Steve, your face is redder than my ledger, Thor’s hair is a mess, and I can practically smell the come on the pair of you, it’s disturbing.” She paused, considering, “and perhaps just a little arousing.” With that, she dropped the olive back into her empty martini glass and stalked off to get another, leaving Steve alone by the buffet and gaping after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter might not be up for a little while, I'm going to Downton Abbey with my Nan haa.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little link-y chapter between two bigger ones, and a little rushed I'm afraid, but hopefully still ok :)

_**Top left: The whole team arriving decked out in their finery for the charity event last night. We can’t say whether we prefer these sharp suits or the figure hugging uniforms they’re usually spotted in – both certainly have their merits. Top right: Captain America and Black Widow share a moment. Could there be something between them?** _

\---

“So it’s safe to assume – since we all know you’re not actually bumping uglies with Natasha – wait, you’re not, are you?” 

“Of course not Tony,” said Steve, Natasha smirking as she sipped at a smoothie.

“Just checking,” he said, giving her a sideways look, “you know, that woman is still mostly a mystery to me, as much as I detest admitting it.” 

“You wouldn’t know mysterious if it slapped you on the ass, Stark,” she said.

“As I was saying,” Tony continued, setting down the tablet with the offending article plastered all over the screen, “since we know Steve and Anya Amasova over there aren’t having a sordid affair, and the Steve in this picture is wearing the most blissed out post sex face I’ve ever had the misfortune of witnessing, I can only assume that he and Pikachu got busy sometime during the evening.”

“Did you have to phrase it like that?” Bruce wrinkled his nose.

Tony turned to him, “not a Pokemon fan, huh?

“That’s not what I – “ 

“I never thought you’d have it in you, Cap. How naughty,” Tony grinned and rubbed at his beard, “Thor maybe – do they really have orgies on Asgard, or was he just yanking my chain, it’s hard to tell with that guy – but I didn’t have you down as an exhibitionist.”

“Tony, please,” Steve’s face was on fire already, and he fought the childish urge to simply leave the room. If Thor was there, he’d have laughed it off and Steve would have felt less alone in the spotlight, but he was honouring a promise to his friend Darcy and taking her around the city for the day. Not that he was all that familiar with it yet either, to Steve’s knowledge. 

“So where’d you do it?” Tony ignored his protests and carried blithely on. “Elevator? Closet? Bathroom?” He paused and Steve could practically see the cogs turning, before a look of enlightenment dawned on his face. “Wait, was it you two who broke the sink in the men’s room?” 

“How did you know about that!?” he blurted before he could stop himself, hand belatedly flying up to his mouth as Bruce raised an eyebrow and Natasha fought against a smile. “I mean…” _Damn._ It was like being at school again, giving the teacher the wrong answer to a question and having the whole class giggle at him behind their hands.

Tony grinned like someone had just given him a million dollars – though in his case Steve supposed that wouldn’t really be much of a feat. “So it was you, huh?” he tutted and shook his head in mock disapproval. “Dirty bastards.”

“Seriously Tony – “

“The assistant manager happened to mention it,” Tony relented. “Guess he thought the ‘anonymous party associated with the Avengers’ who paid for the damage meant me. In his defence, it is the sort of thing I would do.”

“Oh God,” Steve groaned and buried his face in his hands, as Natasha idly patted his shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it,” he heard Bruce say, and looked up to see the scientist smiling slightly, though his face was a little pink too, “he’ll have forgotten all about it by tomorrow.”

Tony shrugged. “Probably. But in the meantime, let me revel in the fact that it was their sink that bore the brunt of the heated super soldier/demi god shenanigans, not mine.”

Steve carefully didn’t tell him about the desk in his room that he and Thor had broken a while back… besides, they’d already replaced it. Tony had no idea, though the look Pepper had given him the day the new one arrived suggested that she had an inkling. He sometimes thought he didn’t give Ms Potts enough credit; she was almost as omniscient as Natasha.

~

That afternoon, Steve was on the sidewalk outside the tower, stretching out a few final kinks before he went for a run. He wasn’t in any real risk of pulling a muscle or injuring himself if he didn’t, but he still liked to do things properly, warm up included. A crowd of people who’d crossed the street at the lights came towards him just as he was about to set out, and he politely stood aside, waiting for them to pass and nodding at the odd smile of thanks he received.

“Have a good one, buddy.”

He looked up just in time to see a man in a rumpled blue shirt and wearing too much cologne give him a laviscious wink and a grin before he was gone with the crowd. That was… weird. But it wasn’t the weirdest thing a random person on the street had said to him by far, so he let it slide and set off towards the park. 

The exercise was pleasant enough. The day was stuffy and humid, so he didn’t push himself as hard as he could have, instead relishing his easy breathing and the tirelessness of his body as he wound through the park. He never ran with headphones in, worried it would prove to be too much of a distraction from what was going on around him, but he could see why people did it, taking the escapism that bit further as they lost themselves in the steady rhythm of their feet on the asphalt. This, he thought, may be the thing he’d miss most of all if he were to somehow revert back to his old body – the simple ability to run.

He headed straight for the shower when he got back. Though the day was cloudy, the air had remained heavy and humid, and he was feeling a little sticky after the workout. As he walked into the bathroom, he instinctively glanced towards the large mirror above the sink – was it really necessary for mirrors to be so big? – and _oh good grief._ The shirt he’d been wearing that morning when he’d spoken to the others would have just covered it, but the tank he’d changed into to run in the warmth of the afternoon left the sizeable hickey just by his collarbone in perfect sight. Gaping at the mark, he raised his hand to gingerly poke at it. He didn’t even think it was possible that he could get marked in such a way, but then it was Thor who’d put it there – a man from another world who’d been worshipped as a god, of course he could leave bite marks, super soldier or otherwise. Sure, Steve healed at a faster rate than most, but all that meant was that the hickey had turned a nasty yellowish purple like it was a couple of days old rather than the angry red it would have been the night before. He’d known Thor had been mouthing at his neck, in fact he was fairly certain he’d encouraged him to do so harder, but it had never occurred to him to check for marks. Oh crap, that was why the man on the street had given such a strange look... He normally would have been mortified to be caught with his pants down – figuratively speaking that is – but at this point Steve was more or less resigned to the whole ridiculous affair. Turning his back on his reflection, he decided to deal with it later, and stripped off to step into the shower.

\---

_He’s always been a stalwart figure for anyone looking for a representation of all things pure, but is Captain America really so innocent as his reputation suggests? He was sighted yesterday afternoon running in the park, sporting a rather impressive love bite clearly visible above the low neckline of his workout gear. But who was the one who put it there? we hear you ask. Well folks, there are a couple we’re certain are in the running. Could it have been teammate Thor, whose relationship with the Captain has been under speculation for some weeks now, after the influx of sightings of the two of them looking cosy recently. Or perhaps it was Black Widow, the only member of the Avengers flying the flag for the ladies, after the two of them were seen getting very close and personal at a charity event just days ago. Maybe Cap has a lover secreted away somewhere in the city. More than one even. Has Tony Stark, infamous womanizer, leant the Captain his little black book? We don’t know for sure. But what we do know is that Captain America isn’t the image of virginal innocence many take him to be. We can’t speak on the behalf of everybody, but here in the office, we’re all for the idea of a hero who knows what he’s doing in the bedroom as well as on the battlefield. Who could say no to a star spangled man with a plan?_

\---

After reading the ridiculous article Natasha had shown him that morning (Tony was pissed she had beaten him to it) Steve was really not in the mood for the meeting he’d needed to call with the others about the matter of the hybrids. But he’d already neglected to do it the day before, what with the absence of Thor and Clint as well as how distracted he’d been with everything else, so he had to bite the bullet and put duty first, personal problems later.

“So, let me get this straight,” said Tony after Steve had gotten the rest of them up to speed, “some nutjob is grabbing random people off the street and mixing them up with whatever animals he thinks could tear you a new one?” 

“That’s about the size of it,” Steve nodded.

“No,” said Bruce slowly, “no, not random. They’re all people at the top of their game physically, or near enough.”

“He’s right,” said Natasha, “from the IDs we’ve got so far on the hybrids in SHIELD custody, it looks like they’re all sports players, models, or fitness nuts. In other words, people at their physical peak who look after themselves. Strong, healthy,” she wrinkled her nose in distaste, “good genes. We initially thought the kid was taken because of his father’s influential position, but turns out it was for his ideal physical state, nothing more.”

Tony let out a low whistle. “Weirdo.”

“It’s like a hundred different kinds of gross,” added Clint.

“Then what must we do?” said Thor, his whole body tense, crackling with it, and Steve fought the urge to cross the room and put a soothing hand on his shoulder.

“There’s nothing we can do,” he answered. “SHIELD’s looking into it, and until he makes his next move, we’ve got nothing more to go on.”

“So what, we’re just going to sit around and wait for this guy to bag more people and stage his own mass scale messed up version of The Fly?” Tony said. “Nuh uh, not cool.”

“Look, I know it’s not ideal – ” Steve began, and Tony snorted. “Fine, what would you suggest?”

“I don’t know yet,” Tony said, stalking off towards the elevator, and no doubt his lab, “but I’ll think of something.”

“I’ll go down with him,” said Bruce, getting to his feet, glasses in hand, “I might be some help, in one way or another.”

Steve nodded his thanks, the meeting at an end, and the rest of them filtered out of the living room to get on with their respective days. But Steve knew he wouldn’t be able to settle. Tony was right – it was a poor show for them to wait around for this guy to make his next move, maiming and potentially killing however many more innocent people it took for him to get his crazed experiments to the standard he wanted. But he just couldn’t see what else to do… SHIELD were still looking into it of course. And the guy must have left some clue as to his whereabouts or the next step of his plan, but even Natasha hadn’t managed to sniff anything out yet – and Steve knew she’d been trying, even though she hadn’t mentioned it – and if she hadn’t dug something up, then what chance did the rest of them have? 

“Steven.”

Thor’s voice carried along the corridor, and though Steve wasn’t sure whether he wanted company or not, he turned to look at him, waiting for him to catch up.

“Hey,” he managed a smile.

“You left so quickly,” Thor slipped his arms around Steve’s middle, heavy and warm, beard rough as he kissed Steve’s forehead, “you gave me no chance to speak with you.”

“Yeah, well,” he felt himself relaxing incrementally into Thor’s hold, tension draining from his body just enough so that he felt more… normal? A little less like a part of a team of frankly impossible people charged with the safety of humanity, and more like any other guy, sharing a simple touch with the person he loves. “I was a little distracted,” he let his head fall forward to rest of Thor’s shoulder, “lots to think about.” 

“Mm,” Thor rumbled, and Steve felt it through his chest. “For now, Captain,” he gently lifted Steve’s chin to look at him, “I think it would be wise for you to follow your own advice, and to be patient.”

“Yeah?”

“It irks you, I know. You wish to be of as much help as you are able to as many people as possible, and the thought of more losing their lives while we await our adversary’s next move is not a welcome one.” Steve blinked, and internally laughed at every reporter that had ever called Thor stupid or unobservant. “It troubles me also. I do not care to sit idle when there is work to be done, a foe at our door. But for now he is in the shadows, and we must wait for him to emerge and show himself, rather than blundering into the darkness ourselves and doing more harm than good. All we can do is be ready.”

“That’s… it sounds pretty sensible, when you say it like that.”

Thor laughed softly. “Whether I am right or not, there is nothing more to be done for the time being. Come,” he laced his fingers through Steve’s, and tugged him gently towards the elevator. Steve let him, succumbing to the rare sensation of somebody comforting him, rather than the other way around. It seemed Thor was making a habit of it, and he smiled at the realisation. “Sit with me a while. I believe you were only a part of the way through one of the tales of victory with your former company. I should like to hear the end.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters and maybe an epilogue left to go!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sleepy I hope this makes sense. Also this chapter's a lot shorter than I thought it would be, whoops.

It turned out that all their fretting over their next move was for nothing. Tony hadn’t needed to think up a plan to identify and apprehend the culprit behind the abductions after all – though later on he’d insist he was on the cusp of coming up with something. Not three days later, and the newest version of the weaponised hybrids were causing havoc downtown, and considerably more violently than they had previously. For all its unpleasantness, the team had been expecting something of the sort, and suited up with a sort of grim satisfaction that at least the waiting for it to happen was over and done with. They’d been on standby ever since their meeting a few days back, so they, as well as backup from SHIELD, were at the scene within minutes. And sure he loved his job, but Steve really wished he was somewhere else right now.

“Team Jacob are headed your way, Cap,” Tony’s voice came buzzing over the comm.

“What?” Steve yelled over the cacophony of crashes, screams, and animalistic bellowing that rang out all around them, ensuring the bindings were secure on a woman bearing the mottled spots of a big cat as well as the claws to match. “What are you talking about?”

“He means,” said Natasha as she dropped from a rooftop to land next to him with frustrating elegance, “the wolf hybrids have formed a pack and are on the way over. Because taking them on one at a time would be too easy,” she finished dryly.

“Wonderful,” said Steve, wiping blood from his lip. The woman hissed and thrashed her tail in irritation, unable to escape the ties. She hadn’t gone down easy. 

These hybrids were proving to be a lot more dangerous than their predecessors that he, Thor and Tony had taken on a couple of weeks back. They were now more animal than human, furred or scaled and capable of moving fast on two legs or four, built tall and thick with strength nearing that of Asgardians, or so Thor had grimly claimed. It took a hell of a hit just to make them flinch, and it was a struggle to bring any one of them down single-handed. It wasn’t so much of a chore for Hulk, who swatted them away like flies, although getting him to listen when they said that they didn’t want them dead if it could be helped wasn’t so easy. They were still victims in this, they sure as hell hadn’t asked for it, and there might be a way to return them to their previous bodies. It was a slim chance, but one worth holding on to. But putting them out of action without killing them wasn’t easy when they were such violent, strong, and instinctual beings. The first lot the team had encountered must have been nothing more than a rung on the ladder, a step in the right direction, before whatever whackjob that made them threw in another ingredient to make them to formidable creatures they were facing now. 

“They’re almost on you,” Tony said urgently, and Steve whipped around to see three wolf-human hybrids – two men and a woman – loping towards he and Natasha through the rubble, attempting to pen them in. They slowed as they came closer, growling and hackles raised, stalking towards them and ready to pounce.

“Thanks, Tony,” he said over the comm, slowly raising his shield as Natasha crouched, ready to fight.

“Can you handle ‘em?” Tony said, grunting with effort as above them he tried to outmanoeuvre a woman who was more bird of prey than human, wings buffeting him and vicious beak seeking chinks in his armour. “I’d come and lend a hand, but –“

“We got it,” said Steve, though really that remained to be seen. “Do you ever wonder what it would be like to work in an office?” he said to Natasha as the wolves bared their teeth. “Or maybe a store, or a coffee shop?”

“Dead boring?” offered Natasha with a sharp grin just as the first wolf jumped.

He couldn’t say how long the two of them struggled against the pack. Their size slowed them slightly, which worked in Natasha’s favour, but by the time they’d managed to render only one of the hybrids unconscious, they were both exhausted, and still with two left to take out. Fortunately, Hulk chose that moment to crash through the debris and effectively squash the two remaining wolf hybrids into the ground, and they had a moment to catch their breath. 

“Thanks, Hulk,” Steve panted, and Hulk gave a pleased rumble before lumbering off to help Thor do battle with a terrifyingly large hybrid that seemed to be mostly rhinoceros. 

Things took on the familiar haze that came with battle, rushed and blurred, punctuated by the odd flash of pain or spike of awareness forcing its way through when one of the team needed help. There didn’t seem to be a large number of the hybrids; their creator apparently relying on their strength and power rather than numbers alone. Which Steve was thankful for, as he flung his shield to take out a lithe, catlike hybrid who’d been avoiding capture and pissing them all off for the better part of an hour. The moment his shield hit its legs, an arrow also embedded in its shoulder, and he shared a grim smile with Clint as they moved to bind it. 

“Thanks,” he said as he straightened up, eyeing the extensive damage the surrounding streets had taken. He always felt bad about the aftermath… but it was better than the alternative, he supposed.

“No problem Cap,” Clint hauled the hybrid to its feet, and dragged if off towards the waiting SHIELD vehicles. Where on earth they were finding the space to keep all the hybrids they’d managed to round up, Steve wasn’t sure, but he was thankful it wasn’t his problem. His body began to ache as it always did after a mission, the adrenaline wearing off and the pain of his injuries beginning to settle in. Granted, it wouldn’t last as long for him as it would for the others, but the next couple of days would be rough going as his body fixed itself at its accelerated rate. To add insult to injury, he could already hear the first few news reporters edging their way in, keen to be the first to get footage of the aftermath now the threat had been eliminated. If one tried to interview him, he was tempted to throw a punch and blame it on adrenaline. 

There was barely time for Steve to register the shouts of warning from the others before something enormous and heavy barrelled into his side, knocking him to the ground and smacking his head hard on the edge of the cracked sidewalk. He lay on the ground, disorientated and breathing heavily, the enraged roars of the hybrid that had just taken him out oddly distant as they mixed with the angry shouts of the team as they surrounded it to bring it down.  
The burst of pain was gone quick as it had come, leaving the dull ache throbbing in the back of his head. It was only seconds, but it could have been hours for all he knew, before things seemed to slot back into reality and he heard a voice at his side, asking if he was alright. He blinked himself back to the present, dazed but more or less okay, to see Natasha frowning down at him.

“Captain, can you hear me? Steve?” Her voice was clear and carefully even, but he could see the tight lines of worry around her mouth.

“Yeah,” his throat was dry, and he coughed a little from the dust, “yeah, I hear you. Help me up, would you?”

“Are you sure you should – “

“I’m fine,” he said, reaching for her arm to lever himself up as Tony appeared at his other side, steadying him.

“Easy Cap,” he flipped up his visor on his helmet, “that was a bitch of a hit, take it steady.”

“I said I’m fine.” He was on his feet now, and a little dizzy perhaps, but apparently unharmed.

“Yeah?” Clint strolled over, inspecting the string of his bow, “tell that to the blood pouring out the back of your head.

Natasha shot him a withering look before turning back to Steve. “It’s not all that bad Cap, but it would probably be a good call to go get it looked at.”

“Alright,” he conceded. He really did feel fine, but arguing would get him nowhere, and he could hardly just leave it. If it had been one of the others, he’d have been just as keen for them to get it checked out. “What was it?”

“Mostly a bear,” said Clint, “a fucking big one.”

“Of course it was,” Steve winced as the wound at the back of head pulsed sharp and hot. “Did you get him?”

“Hulk and Thor are handing him over to SHIELD,” Tony said. “Or what’s left of him anyway. You know Rogers, your boyfriend doesn’t fuck about when it comes to avenging your injuries. Not that the rest of us were that thrilled about it either.” 

“Huh.” Of course he knew that Thor had his back – they all had each other’s, it sort of came with the job and went without saying – but there was something different about fighting alongside somebody you cared about so deeply; the strange rush of knowing they were right there with you, the tinge of worry for their safety, and the furious determination to ensure they made it out unharmed forming a hazy, adrenaline fuelled, but oddly comforting bubble. It was sort of how he’d felt before, standing beside Bucky in back alley brawls and later on when they were reunited in the Commandos, before it all went to shit. He’d hit his head harder than he’d thought. 

Despite his insistence that he could manage, Natasha insisted on walking him to the medical team, Tony and Clint following and attempting to one up each other with bear-based humour. 

“Hey Tony, did you hear about the taxidermist who got mugged?”

“Why no Clint, I did not.”

“He fought the attacker off with his bear hands.”

“Jesus Christ,” Natasha muttered and Steve tried not to laugh. It hurt too much.

When they got to the medical van, Bruce was already inside, back in his smaller, not-green form and looking about as worse for wear as he usually did, managing a weak smile from under the thick blanket Tony always ensured was packed before they’d set out. Thor was pacing up and down in front of the vehicle, glaring at the ground and not stopping for anyone who was stupid enough to scuttle across his path. Corny as it was, Steve felt a little better just setting eyes on him. When Thor noticed them approaching, he came to an abrupt halt in his prowling, his concerned frown fading and flickering into something like relief. That is until he noticed the blood thick and sticky at the back of Steve’s head and the way Natasha was marching him towards the medics, and the glare came back in full force. Steve tried to give him a reassuring smile, and though he wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, the hard anger evident in every taught line of Thor’s body seemed to soften just a fraction. 

“I’m fine,” he said, before Thor’s obvious worry for him could escalate any further. 

“You are bleeding,” said Thor, as Natasha gave his shoulder a light squeeze and stepped back to give them some space, and to put an end to the ridiculous bear puns being tossed back and forth.

“It’s just a bump,” Steve managed a small smile, the pain at the back of his head dulling with each passing moment, “in a day or two, you’d never even know it was there.”

“Do not make light of it,” said Thor with concern bordering on irritation, grip tight on Mjolnir and tendons standing taught in his neck and wrists.

“Thor,” Steve said softly – or at least he hoped so, he was still a little woozy and the ringing in his ears was making it hard to gauge the volume of his voice, “really, it’s okay. Nothing worse than what we’ve had before, right?”

“Perhaps not,” Thor said stonily, “but ‘before’ was different. I did not – we were not – “ he cut himself short as he struggled to find the words and took a step closer, hand that wasn’t holding the hammer rising awkwardly in a hesitant attempt to reach for him. “I only wish for what any person would if their beloved had been harmed,” he said quietly, “simply to hold them, and ensure they are safe.”

Steve was about to give in and fall into Thor’s arms and just let himself be held, medical needs be damned, when with supremely bad timing, the first few photographers and news teams who’d managed to filter through the barriers began to emerge between the buildings, clicking their shutters and yelling questions at them. His eyes flicked up to the approaching cameras, flinching away from Thor and taking a half a step back before he could even think about it. He looked back in time to see Thor lower the hand he’d been reaching out to him, a brief flash of sadness across his face before he growled in obvious frustration, turning sharply away and whirling Mjolnir to carry him into the grey sky.


	10. Chapter 10

Steve had never been able to deal well with guilt. As soon as Thor had left him standing by the medical van, blinking up at the sky and realising just how goddamn awful the entire day had been, he wished desperately he’d been able to stop the moment of hesitation that had upset him so. For someone so brash and boisterous most of the time, Thor could pull one heck of a sad face. They were both at fault he supposed, but letting it fester would do no good, and Thor had a tendency to brood that Steve would rather cut short if he could. The minute the SHIELD medics had deemed him fit, Steve had dashed off in search of the demigod, having a fairly good idea of where he’d be. He’d found him on the roof, high up above everything, where he could feel the wind on his face and see the sun sinking behind the angular rise and fall of the city. 

“I thought you’d be up here.”

“Mm,” said Thor, without turning to face him, “I said to myself I came here in order to be alone, but I think it’s more likely because I knew you would be the only one to look for me here.”

Steve crossed the rooftop to stand next to him. He wanted to touch him, anything – a hug, a hand on his shoulder, fingers on the back of his neck – to try to communicate how much he regretted the sour turn things had taken that afternoon. They’d been doing so well together, falling into something that felt almost normal in the strange rhythm of their lives, and Steve had set them back weeks with one stupid little flicker of half-realised doubt. Of course Thor knew how Steve felt about the press, and he maybe could have tried a little harder to keep it together instead of literally storming off like he had, but Steve was willing to be the bigger man if it got the ball rolling. He didn’t know if Thor would appreciate such close physical proximity if he was still smarting from Steve’s rejection, so he settled for standing next to him, close but not touching, and looked out over the skyline as Thor did.

“Thor, I – “ 

“I apologise for my abrupt departure after the battle,” Thor said, finally turning to look at him, face creased with guilt, “I was fatigued, and angered that I could not show you the affection I wished to in the presence of the cameras. If I had not left then, I fear I may have done something I’d later regret.” 

“I – what?” The apology Steve had been working up to came to an abrupt halt.

“You were hurt, and I should have stayed with you, regardless of my own misgivings,” Thor said gravely. “I should have kept a tighter rein on my emotions.” 

“I wasn’t hurt bad, Thor, I – “ 

_“You_ are what is important, Steven,” Thor cut across him, impatient and clearly troubled, “and I know well how much the attention of the media irks you. And though it is true I dearly wished to hold you, I should have simply honoured my promise to respect your wishes for privacy and stayed, rather than fleeing off to sulk like a child.”

“Thor, no,” said Steve, turning to face him properly, his hand coming up to grip Thor’s upper arm and feeling more guilty than ever in the face of Thor’s misplaced apology. “You have nothing to be sorry for. This thing with the press… it’s my hang up, okay? You shouldn’t be made to feel bad about it.”

“ But Steven – “

“No, listen. It was me who stepped back, ok? Me who pushed you away. And sure, I wasn’t thinking straight, and maybe you over reacted just a little,” he smiled and let his hand creep up to the back of Thor’s neck, fingers curling onto his hair and pulling him forward gently, so their foreheads rested together. “But you’re really important to me, Thor. And I can’t lose what we have over something so stupid.”

Thor laughed softly, a deep rumble of amusement, and put his arm around Steve to draw him closer. “We truly are a pair, are we not,” he said, “both so keen to atone when in the eyes of the other our slight has been so small.” 

“I guess,” said Steve, “I hope that’s a good thing. Thor?”

“Mm?”

“Promise me something?”

“Yes?”

“Work on your sulking – we’ve already got Tony for that, I don’t need two of you.”

Thor laughed, and held him so tight his feet lifted from the ground. 

~

_Crime fighting team The Avengers were in the spotlight again yesterday after an incident occurred in downtown New York that left an area over a mile square closed off for recovery and reconstruction work. Security in the area’s been tight, and there’s relatively little more we know about the situation so far, though we suspect more will come to light as the clean-up is carried out and witnesses come forward. The most troubling of the rumours we’ve uncovered so far is that Captain America was seriously injured during the fray – he was sighted receiving medical attention moments after the conflict was brought to an end. More on this as it develops._

-

Things had come to an end so easily it bordered on frustrating. They hadn’t even needed to chase up the man behind it all. He’d come forward of his own volition after his creations had been rounded up, keen – as with a majority of the villains they apprehended – to make sure they knew just who it was who’d caused them all that trouble. According to Bruce, the man had actually been pretty well known in the field back in the day, but a loss in the family had triggered a downward spiral that apparently ended with the creation and weaponisation of dangerous animal human hybrids. The update from Fury that Steve had requested that morning stated that he was still crowing about his glorious contribution to humanity, and expected praise and respect rather than the contempt and disgust the SHIELD employees found it hard to conceal. But it was done with, and that was what mattered.

~

The two of them were in the park. Not running or exercising, not there to fight whatever crackpot had decided to cause trouble that week, but simply taking the time to enjoy the day. It wasn’t something Steve did often enough, so Thor had said. They were sitting on a bench that, according to the plaque in its centre, was dedicated to the memory of a man named Thomas, signed only by ‘a dear friend.’ He’d never given it any thought before, but it seemed a strange way to remember somebody you’d lost.   
They were sitting close, enough so that the tops of their legs pressed together, but not in a way that could be considered overly intimate. Steve sort of wished they were. He let his eyes fall shut, afternoon sun warm on his face as he leant back, wondering if it would be worth the awful shots of them that would surely pop up in the gossip rags the next day if he rested his head on Thor’s shoulder. Thor himself was fiddling with something on his phone, frowning in concentration. 

“Hey mister?” 

Steve opened his eyes to see a small group of kids standing in front of them.

“Uh,” he glanced sideways at Thor, who seemed just as perturbed by their presence as he did. “Yeah?”

“Are you Captain America?” said the boy who’d spoken first, before adding quickly, “Bobby dared me to ask you.”

“Hey!” One of the other kids standing behind him, Bobby presumably, reached over to lightly shove him friend on the shoulder. 

“And Thor?” added a little girl, the only one in the group, smiling up at them, a gap where one of her front teeth should be. 

Steve looked sideways to Thor again, who smiled conspiratorially before looking back to the girl. “You are correct, fair maiden,” said Thor, a touch theatrically perhaps, and inclined his head to her. “Brave sirs,” he added, with a nod to the boys.

“No way!” the girl grinned even wider, practically hopping with excitement.

“I told you so,” the boy who’d first approached them crowed over his friend Bobby. 

Bobby ignored him. “I saw you on the news the other day,” he said to Steve. “Your head was all bleeding and stuff. Are you okay now?”

“I’m doing just fine, thanks,” said Steve, slipping into his Captain America voice, a little touched that the kid was asking after him. 

“Yeah and we saw you fight those aliens,” the first kid piped up again, “the ones that came out of the sky and started blowing stuff up.”

“It was way cool how you guys were all fighting them together,” the girl cut in, “we play it sometimes.” She looked up to Thor again, obviously taken with him. “I always say I’m you.”

Thor laughed, “a fine choice indeed.” 

“And then Hulk smashed up that big flying thing – “

“And did you see the lady kick one of them in the face?”

“Yeah! And the guy with the arrows.”

“He shot one through the eye, that was my favourite part.”

“Mom wouldn’t let me watch that part.”

“And Iron Man flew up through that hole in space – “

“And he fell back down. I thought he was gonna splat.”

It felt as though what the press had deemed the battle of New York had happened ages ago, what with all that had happened since – other bad guys had come along, the team were an actual cohesive unit now, not just thrown together and hoping for the best. And there was Thor… But for these kids to still be talking about it with such enthusiasm… it was nice, if a little strange. It was something they’d always remember. Something that made Steve feel a little more like he deserved the title of ‘hero’ so often bestowed on them all. To these kids, that’s what they always would be. 

Eventually, the kids all scampered off home (apparently one of their moms had said the lot of them could come over for pizza.) The girl had extracted a promise from Thor to hit the next bad guy especially hard, just for her. It was adorable, and Steve sort of wished she’d had the chance to meet Natasha too – she would have liked her. He watched them run across the park, laughing and playfully shoving at each other, only to realise Thor was doing the same, leaning against the bench and smiling softly.  
Steve had seen Thor’s softer side countless times, either when they were alone, or lazing about the tower with the rest of the team. And he knew all about having a different face you put on for the public, for work. But it was still a pleasant surprise to see Thor – the vast, tempestuous demigod who could wipe out hoards of enemy troops with a single swing of his hammer – being so good with kids. 

“What is it?” Thor had caught him looking.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” he shrugged, “I’ve just never seen you talk to kids before. That little girl really thought you were something.”

“Mm,” Thor hummed in agreement, “In my experience, children are less likely to skim around the point than adults. They are refreshing to speak with in that regard.”

“I guess you’re right,” Steve gave a soft huff of laughter, and shifted his weight ever so slightly on the bench, so their shoulders were touching as well as their legs. “It was still cute though.” 

Thor looked for a moment like he might bristle over being called ‘cute,’ but he just shrugged and settled his weight closer to Steve in return. He tilted his chin up, proud and lofty, and only part serious. “If you deem it so.”

“I still can’t believe it all, sometimes,” said Steve, biting his lip the moment the words left his mouth, not really sure he’d meant to say it out loud.

“Can’t believe what?”

“After I woke up, starting all over again seemed like such a big thing, you know?” he shrugged. “And it took a while for me to accept that I could start it up again, build something new. It seems too much that I got all this – the team, my new life here – and to find somebody I care about so much on top of that just seems kinda unreal.”

Thor blinked at him, face softened with affection, angling his body towards Steve and leaning forward slightly, as though to kiss him. Without thinking about it, Steve leaned forward to meet him, but before he could do so, Thor had pulled back, smiling sheepishly. 

“I apologise,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “I had forgotten where we were.”

Steve frowned, finding himself disappointed that Thor had pulled away. It suddenly didn’t seem to matter so much, what the rest of the world thought. It was their goddamn business, and if everybody else couldn’t hack it, then that was their problem. He loved Thor for Christ’s sake, and if not he was damn well close to it, and why the hell shouldn’t he be able to kiss the person he loved whenever he liked, without fearing what anyone else, people who didn’t even know them, would think? What kind of example was he setting to people who looked up to them, people like those kids, if he wasn’t even brave enough to show the one he loved the affection they deserved? And it wasn’t fair to Thor, who was so free and generous with his affection, to have to tamp it down whenever Steve got edgy, and have it all thrown back in his face. He deserved more. But it wasn’t just about Thor – Steve still wasn’t exactly looking forward to all the attention that outing themselves would bring, but he was ready to face it, and tired of hiding. The kids had said he was brave, they admired him for it, and he was damn well going to live up to it. 

“Thor?”

Thor looked to him, eyebrow raised in question. “Yes?”

Steve swallowed, his mouth dry, hesitantly reaching up to touch Thor’s jaw and bring him closer. He closed his eyes, and tentatively pressed his lips to Thor’s. The noise of the park around them seemed overly loud, each laugh, each call of a parent to their child, each dog bark and bicycle bell, as Thor remained unmoving in surprise at Steve’s sudden change of heart. He pulled back, lips numb, to see Thor looking at him, wide-eyed and mouth slack.

“Is this okay?” Steve said quietly. He hadn’t exactly asked after all, just sort of assumed Thor would be alright with it. 

Thor’s face split into a sunny grin, and Steve felt an idiot for even doubting it. “Oh Captain,” he said, his rough hand gentle on Steve’s neck, “it is so much more than okay.”

Steve laughed and flung his arms around Thor’s neck – he may as well go the whole hog and do it properly if he was going to do it at all – and kissed him again, big time, grinning against Thor’s lips, feeling lighter than he had done in weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woops that was a big gap between chapters. Only one more to go!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow I'm sorry this took so long. Downton Abbey started again, and it's been hard to focus on anything that isn't Thomas Barrow for the past month or so.  
> When it came to it, I think I probably could have finished this fic with the previous chapter, but I promised an epilogue, and so you shall have one. Nothing fancy, but hopefully ties up the end a little more.  
> Thanks for the comments/kudos you guys, it's been rad :)

Unsurprisingly, the rest of the team didn’t let it slide. Hell, he would have been just as unbearable had it been one of the others enthusiastically kissing their partner plastered all over the internet. It was what friends did. Steve had expected nothing less, and though he’d become somewhat immune to their teasing, the day they stopped poking fun would be the day he started worrying.  
So when he walked into the kitchen the next morning, it came as no surprise that Natasha and Clint were both pointedly reading their own copies of the gossip pages of a cheap daily paper covered with grainy photographs of he and Thor on the park bench, and Tony already had a segment about the two of them from the tacky showbiz news loaded up on YouTube. He had to wonder, did they actually coordinate these little performances between them, or did they all just happen to wander in at the same time, ready to tease him? No, Natasha didn’t ‘just happen’ to do anything. Still, the thought of the lot of them planning it was kinda funny.

“Morning,” he said, aiming for breezy as he reached for the coffee. 

“You kids have fun yesterday?” said Tony, raising an eyebrow and looking thoroughly smug. 

“Great thanks,” he took a sip, despite it being a little too hot. 

“Y’know, I always thought I’d be a little sad when this day finally came.”

Steve sighed, sensing a verbal trap and walking right into it anyway. “And what day might that be, Tony?”

“The day that one of you guys is the ‘and finally’ story on the entertainment news instead of me,” he shook his head with overdone sadness, going as far as to wipe a pretend tear from his eye, “but I have to say, I’m proud of you boys.”

He hit play, and Bruce quickly muffled a snort of laughter into his tea before saying apologetically, “we don’t have to watch it Steve, if you don’t want.”

“Nah, it’s okay,” Steve gave him a half smile which turned to a grimace as the poorly taken image of he and Thor that he’d seen more times than he ever could have wished for appeared, enlarged and enhanced, behind the perky entertainment news reporter. 

\---

_And finally, any rumours surrounding the romantic involvement of Avengers Captain America and Thor were put to rest yesterday after the two of them were spotted sharing an intimate moment on a park bench. No word from the superheroes themselves yet, but it looks as though they’re both firmly off the market for the time being. Looks like for now we’ll just have to sit back and enjoy the view!_

\---

It… actually wasn’t as excruciating as he’d been expecting, but bad enough that he was still cringing as Bruce shot him a sympathetic look and nudged a plate of still warm pastries closer to him. Steve took one gratefully, and leant back against the counter to finish his coffee.

“For future reference,” Natasha said, setting aside the paper and pulling up something on her phone, “there are also people who think it was a) faked for some kind of publicity stunt or practical joke TV show, b) that it was staged for a political statement, or c) quite a few who don’t think it was actually you two at all.”

“...Right.”

“This one guy in Utah is practically pissing himself with excitement because he thinks you guys were actors and they’re filming some kinda Avengers themed porn,” Clint grinned at him. “Want me to send you the link?”

“Wonderful,” Steve brushed pastry crumbs from his shirt, “and no, thanks.”

Steve didn’t feel nearly as embarrassed as he thought he might now it was out in the open for the world to see if they so wished, and it seemed like most of them did. But that was a good thing. Admittedly, he was a little worried about the hate mail that would doubtless be coming his way from a select group of people who had nothing better to do but feel offended by his personal life, but even that didn’t seem to matter as much as he thought it would. It seemed more insignificant than ever when Thor came into the kitchen.

“Good morning,” Thor announced cheerfully to the kitchen at large, his eyes sweeping over their teammates one by one, lingering on Steve a fraction longer than the others. You wouldn’t have noticed unless you were looking for it. Pouring himself a coffee in the enormous mug decorated with frolicking pugs that Pepper had inexplicably gifted him with, he took a seat at the breakfast bar next to where Steve was leaning. Steve gripped his shoulder in silent greeting, Thor leaning into his touch with a pleased little look like a cat being scratched behind its ear. Of course, with Thor’s entrance into the kitchen, the good natured teasing and awful puns about hammers started up all over again, although Thor appeared more pleased than irritated about it all.

“Why should it displease me?” he asked, blinking up at him when Steve pointed this out. “It is meant in fun. For me, it only serves as a further reminder of how things are between us, and how can that be a bad thing?”

 _Damn,_ Thor could be smooth when he wanted.

Steve was about to make an attempt at saying something equally sweet in return, but Clint chose that moment to launch a roughly folded paper aeroplane across the room, where it hit the side of Thor’s head. He frowned as he picked it up, but grinned when he smoothed it out to show Steve that it was the page from the paper, plastered with weak, innuendo filled speculation and blurry pictures of the two of them on the bench, coupled with older photographs of them at any time they had been standing less than a metre apart. Tony swiped it off the table before they could object, sticking it to the fridge with a Hulk fridge magnet that had come free in a box of sugary kids cereal that Thor had a shameless liking for. 

The domesticity of these little moments in Steve’s life were almost alarming in their unexpectedness, considering that his most recent memories before them consisted the war and dark time just after he’d woken up, during both of which there was very little he’d found comforting and familiar. The realistic part of him knew all this couldn’t last, especially in their unconventional line of work, but he’d lived through the depression and the war, and he knew about making the most of something while you had it. 

“Seems like a lot of people want to congratulate you,” Bruce interrupted Steve’s bittersweet musings, smiling down at his tablet, “or saying you’re even more of a role model to them now than before. It’s kind of nice, actually. You should read some.” 

“That’s great and all, but it’s not all rainbow tinged support and celebrity gossip columns,” said Tony, slipping his phone into his pocket, “there’s a few assholes out there who aren’t so happy. Not that it’s any of their business.” He said it with that dangerous glint in his eye that meant he would make it _his_ business if anyone dared take it too far.

“That aside, the artists have outdone themselves this time,” said Natasha as she scrolled absently through some of their fan pages. “Who knew they could work so fast.”

“Show me,” said Thor, holding out a hand for Natasha’s phone, “I very much enjoy seeing how Midgard’s artists are inspired by us.”

“They’re certainly inspired by Steve’s ass.”

“That never gets old, Barton,” Steve said, swallowing the last of his coffee and crossing the kitchen to get another cup. It was going to be that sort of morning.

Back in the day and before the serum, Steve hadn’t often let himself wonder what it would be like to be in a relationship. Of course he’d sometimes slipped up if he was having a particularly bad time of it, but in general, he didn’t let himself dwell on what he thought he’d never have. It was hard to get out of this mind set even after the serum, but in the confusing rush of a new life and complicated emotion, Bucky and Peggy fighting by his side, he’d give in again, and let himself fantasise about settling down with the right person, and how good he’d be to the one he loved. His imaginings took various different routes, but he could safely say this was one he never could have guessed at. It was a pleasant surprise.

The others eventually conceded that they did in fact have better things to do with their day than tease Steve and Thor, and filtered off to go and take care of it. Natasha and Clint had SHIELD business with Fury, though the former extracted a promise from Steve that they’d go for coffee that afternoon. He was fairly sure that Tony had some sort of important meeting with Pepper and some high ups in Stark Industries, though he claimed otherwise and headed towards the lab instead. But not before he’d started to list the places he kept emergency condoms stashed throughout the house, and Bruce had smacked him on the arm and ushered him out of the room.

“It seems we are alone,” Thor raised an eyebrow at him across the kitchen.

“Would you look at that,” said Steve in mock surprise. Thor snorted in laughter and held out a hand to him.

“Will you sit with me a moment?” Steve could feel him in the very air. When Thor’s emotions were heightened, the air grew heavy and prickled with static, making the hair on Steve’s arms stand up, making him feel fidgety and comforted all at once, and without them even touching.

“Sure,” Steve set the remains of his coffee down and crossed the kitchen, “I can do even better than that.” He slid himself onto Thor’s lap, a leg each side of his hips and Thor’s hand on his thigh to balance him. Despite himself, his face got a little warm. Well, not everything could change overnight. 

Thor smiled in pleased surprise at his positioning, but made no comment. “And you’re alright with this?”

“With what?” he said quietly, distracted by Thor’s fingers stroking the small of his back.

“This,” Thor nodded to where Natasha and Clint had left the gossip columns strewn across the counter. 

“Yeah,” said Steve, and he meant it. “It’ll be someone else’s picture there tomorrow, right?”

Thor huffed a soft laugh against his cheek, “yes.”

“Besides,” Steve swallowed, “I’ve got you, right? It’s not like it’s something I’ve got to deal with alone.”

“Never.” Thor’s hand tensed on his leg, and he leant up to press a kiss to Steve’s neck. “And I believe our shieldbrothers would disembowel anybody who caused offense over the matter on our behalf.”

Steve smiled fondly, looping his arms loosely about Thor’s neck and resting his head on his shoulder, breathing in the smell of the coffee and pastries, the musky soap that Thor used. How long they sat together he wasn’t sure, enjoying the quiet moment between the two of them; the soft and steady rise and fall as they breathed, the comfortable warmth between their bodies, the wonderful ache of love and comfort that flared and grew in his chest when Thor pressed a kiss to his temple and pulled him a little closer. There wasn’t anything in the world that mattered more than this.


End file.
